E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
The reluctant candidate
Sunday, 01 11, 2004
The scene – France, 1958: The nation was riven by strife that bordered on anarchy. While disparate groups were appropriating unto themselves the insignia of patriotism, Islamic terrorists were assassinating government functionaries, and Communists were gaining adherents by the thousands, thanks to the incompetence and corruption of the effete officialdom. Amid this widespread social malaise and hopelessness, political factions jockeyed for the public’s imprimatur on their various political agenda, and despite their strident slogans and novel gimmickry, none of them held the electorate’s trust for long. Administrations rose, tottered and fell. Nobody could capture the people’s confidence that he would lead with firmness. But before the smoldering hopelessness and distrust toward politicians could develop into an incendiary situation, that could spark a violent revolution, that could engulf the whole nation, some of the nation’s leaders – selfless patriots who asked nothing for themselves – decided on a bold solution. They invited Charles de Gaulle to come out of his retirement and lead the nation again. He was reluctant at first, but driven by patriotism, he accepted the call of destiny. The rest is history. De Gaulle, with the people united behind him, quelled the bloody strife in Moslem Algeria, appointed good men to help him run the country, steered the economy to prosperity and led his nation to superpower status.
Fast forward – 2003: California, USA, the fifth largest economy in the world has become the sick state of the United States, hobbled by a gargantuan budget deficit, and an intolerable number of unemployed due to the flaccid leadership of its governor, who kowtowed to special interests that elected him to power. Sick and tired of “politics as usual,” the people initiated a successful recall elections. But who would that charismatic leader be? – one with integrity to lead them out of the suffocating miasma of shenanigans of elected officials. Enter actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a tyro who, despite success in his business affairs, never held any public office. A mega-millionaire in his own right, he had no use of politics as a means to acquire more riches. He merely wanted to serve and give back to the people what they have given him by the way of popularity, wealth and glory. His rallying cry: “I will be the governor of the people of California, not of special-interests groups.” Governor Arnie won by a landslide, and with the people united behind his sensible – definitely not political – approach to governance, California has slowly pulled itself into recovery. Schwarzenegger smashed the power of special-interest groups, and appointed good and competent men, irrespective of their political color, to nurse the sick state back to its former sunny economic disposition. Above all, the movie actor has shown to the Californians that if one has spent his whole life working and succeeding in other endeavors, a challenge in the arena of public service is just another job, at which he will likewise succeed.
Segue to the Philippines – 2004: The obvious need not be belabored with verbose explanations. What the country now needs is a leader who can unite the people behind him in braving the political, economic and social maelstroms besetting these hapless shores. As the presidential derby approaches a more focused perspective, the field of contest seems to have been left to virtually four aspirants: The incumbent, who up to now has not quite shaken off the opprobrium that she is only there on an acting capacity; a resigned Cabinet member whose obvious strategy is to go after the incumbent’s ineffectual and divisive leadership so that she comes out as someone whom Filipinos could and should no longer trust; a sitting senator who has spent most of his time warding off issues raised against him; and a movie actor who has not had any previous exposure to politics before he was swept into it, albeit reluctantly at first, by an overwhelming and persuasive draft of millions of signatures from all over the country.
As it was in France in 1958, we now need a leader with overwhelming charisma, unassailable integrity, love of country and strength of character. As it was in California last year, we now need a leader who comes not from the usual mould of office seekers, one who will not yield to the dictates of special interest groups. In other words, what we now need is a hero, one who will argue with the dictates of the entrenched gods of politics as usual and is willing to rouse the devils to contest that vision. Other candidates might claim to be possessed to these attributes. But only one candidate, it now seems, can overwhelmingly unite the country behind him, and that is Fernando Poe, Jr..
Let is not be said that FPJ is much too close to the previous leadership that was brought down by “people power.” But tell me – when Carlos P. Romulo was secretary of foreign affairs, he passionately served his people till his death without the stigma of Marcos rubbing off on him. By the same token, FPJ never asked anything for himself while his friend Erap was in power, if you need proof of his integrity and selflessness.
Let no one scoff that FPJ does not have a college degree. There are too many educated derelicts, and the most incompetent and corrupt leaders that we have had were so highly educated it was oozing out of their ears. They actually transmogrified their education as a fraudulent expertise to further their own selfish ambitions to the detriment of the people.
There are those who recoil at the thought that a Poe presidency will merely be a repetition of history. Has it never occurred to their minds that the man – Da King, if you will – is all too painfully aware of recent history?
History teaches men how to confront generational crises. The lessons of history certainly must have taught FPJ the consequences of certain actions. On our part, these same lessons should force us, if and when necessary, to repeat the same actions we took to correct the mistakes we wittingly committed.
From all historical perspectives, FPJ is the man of the hour we’ve been looking for. The choice is ours.
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