Inside Track

Remembering Barbers

In case you missed it, Studio 23 recently aired an ad of former Senator Robert Barbers. It was practically a rerun of his advertisement in last year's senatorial campaign minus the "vote for me" part.

The only upcoming election we are aware of is the one in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and we doubt if Barbers is planning to get involved in that. So did the TV station make a mistake? Was the station manager dozing off when the ad was aired? Probably.

There could be one rationale for the ad, though. It is, after all, a year since the last national elections. Those who ran but lost in 2004 are no longer banned from getting appointed into office.

Was the ad the former senator's way of reminding the people in Malacañang that he's just around and therefore qualified for public office? Remember that Barbers was Interior and Local Government Secretary before he became senator in 1998. And pray, what position could he be angling for? A possible clue lies in the things the senator promised to fight against in his ad: crime, terrorism, and illegal drugs. Incumbents in offices involved in these areas, watch out.

Power of the Press

Here's some juicy info from a reader who read our story on the lifestyle pages of newspapers (NEWSBREAK, May 23, 2005): "There is this Lifestyle editor of a major paper who's now in New York with her husband enjoying the cherry blossoms in early spring while we ordinary mortals are stuck in the oven. On whose account, I don't know. But if you would care to investigate, you'd find more juicy, revealing details about her, well, lifestyle. Like where she lives and the cars she is chauffeured in. But I suggest you don't zero in on this poor jetsetter. Examine as well the lifestyles of the other Lifestyle editors and see how they've used their positions in pursuit of la dolce vita. They may not be as blessed and aggressive as the one I earlier cited, but they all belong to the same class of overachieving journalists. Talk about power of the press."

Challengers Gearing Up

Winners of the 2004 local elections have been in office for exactly a year this month. That's too long for the people they defeated and who want a rematch, or for those who want to replace them. So challengers for various local positions—most especially for governor and mayor—are now busy searching for strategists and operators who will build their organizations and run their campaigns come 2007.

According to political operators that NEWSBREAK spoke with, a two-year preparation before the polls is normal for the following aspirants: those who were defeated in the past by the incumbent; those who held one position before but are running for another position for the first time; and those who are political virgins.

Such huge preparation is understandable since, one operator said, incumbents have the edge of "campaigning every day" through their official duty to assist families with "KBL" needs. KBL here stands not for a political party but for kasal-binyag-libing or wedding-baptism-funeral.

As far as we know, some challengers for various positions in Metro Manila, Northern Luzon, and Southern Luzon have hired their backroom boys (and girls) for the 2007 elections. Our lips are sealed as to the specific localities where our sources say they've forged agreements with clients. The only clue we can give is that most of these clients are going to challenge incumbents who will be running for their second term.

One of our sources said a challenger has a bigger chance of defeating an incumbent who is seeking a second term. Voters tend to look kindly on incumbents who are running for a third and last term. "The voter attitude is 'pagbigyan na natin, huling term na naman,'" one operator said.

Malabon-Navotas Musical Chairs

The outgoing congressman of Malabon-Navotas, Federico "Ricky" Sandoval II, is weighing his options on what position to seek in the next elections.

He may run for mayor of Navotas, but he would be facing reelectionist Toby Tiangco, who, our sources said, wouldn't agree to swap positions with Sandoval until he (Tiangco) reaches the term limit for the mayor (which will be in 2010 yet).

Sandoval may run for mayor of Malabon, but this could confuse the voters. In past elections, he was registered in Navotas. But he can always transfer his residence to Malabon, which his wife Jeannie did in 2004.

Registering in Malabon in time for the 2004 elections, Mrs. Sandoval ran for mayor but lost to Tito Oreta. The latter, brother of a former mayor, will be running for reelection and will therefore be Ricky Sandoval's strongest rival.

Wherever Ricky will run for mayor, his wife will run for the position he will be vacating in Congress. But that will be a difficult battle. Because then, Jeannie will be up against former Congresswoman Tessie Aquino-Oreta, or the latter's daughter Rissa, or—if the shift to parliament happens before 2007—Loren Legarda, who's a registered Malabon voter.

Does Arroyo Have an 'Anting-anting'?

After the untimely death of opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. last Dec. 14, 2004, from "pulmonary arrest secondary to cerebral infarction" or stroke, another leader of the opposition almost succumbed to a fatal illness.

Horacio "Boy" Morales Jr., former Communist rebel leader and agrarian reform secretary of former President Joseph Estrada, had to undergo an emergency triple bypass at the Philippine Heart Center last May 10 after experiencing headaches and breathing problems.

Although he's not in the same league as the opposition's high-profile leaders, Morales has been the mover of Estrada's political party, Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), which he has tried to rebuild and sustain after Estrada's fall from power in January 2001. In addition to his organizing skills, Morales is also a coalition builder and mediator to diverse political groups and leaders, talents he used in building the Left's National Democratic Front in the late '70s and early '80s.

Quipped an opposition source after learning that Morales nearly went the way of FPJ: "Mukhang may anting-anting (amulet) yata si GMA [President Arroyo]." Morales is expected to keep a less hectic work load in the political opposition's backroom operations.

Her Secret to Good Health

One of President Arroyo's secrets to keeping healthy—and outliving her political opponents—is the country's new sports craze, badminton.

Mrs. Arroyo is said to have picked up badminton two years ago. She now plays regularly in Malacañang Palace where there are two badminton courts, said an informant who's a badminton aficionado.

Obviously, the President does not get her sweat and fitness training from playing with the horizontally-challenged First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. "She plays badminton with her aide and security," the informant said. "She plays at night before she sleeps."

President Rabusa

Remember him, Lt. Col. George Rabusa?

Like his boss at the defunct military comptroller staff, retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, Rabusa is detained in Camp Aguinaldo, awaiting the verdict on the charges of unexplained wealth leveled against him.

But his detention doesn't mean he should be out of power, or so his loyalists claim. You see, until all hell broke loose, the hotshot Rabusa was president of Class 1981 of the Philippine Military Academy. His election as class president was expected, for as we had previously reported, he dispensed favors like a godfather, someone whom a classmate could run to when in dire financial straits.

Of course, things have changed. After he was jailed, the class—for obvious and practical reasons—decided to elect a new president. Another officer was thus elected to the post. But this didn't sit well with Rabusa. His friends in the class insisted that he was still their president. So the presidency went back to him. Perhaps Rabusa has watched too much Erap on TV?