Does that mean that people still trust Namfrel?

Frankly, I’ve lost whatever respect I have had left of Namfrel as an independent, quick-count organization. The last straw was Namfrel chair Joe Concepcion insisting that there was no cheating in the 2004 elections or, as I suspect he will say now, no cheating on a scale massive enough to bring into question the over-all results. This, despite the taped voices that anyone trying to avoid a lawsuit would say "sounds like" the voices of the incumbent president and a non-disgraced elections commissioner, and despite the very obvious cover-up that started with the now-infamous "I have two discs" performance of Ignacio Bunye (who, in that one fell swoop damaged his credibility beyond the after-life).

How can we now trust Namfrel to again do a quick-count if it still has Joe "There was no cheating" Concepcion at its head? The same Joe Concepcion whose son is, if I remember correctly, a presidential adviser of some sort now, which makes you wonder whether the post of Concepcion Jr. is a reward, or the reason for, Concepcion Sr.’s "see, hear, and say no evil" posture?

And how does Namfrel deal with the fact that Bill Luz sees the 2004 elections differently? Unless the solution is to give Bill Luz the boot?

I say let’s give Namfrel the boot too. It has, like its leaders past and present, been too compromised.

***

If you look at the lists of the Opposition and of the Administration, you again see an "only in the Philippines’ mix of people who now have to twist and turn in the air to justify why they are on the side of the political fence that they just yesterday were demonizing.

Do you still trust people like these? Or is this a living example of Rizal’s famous phrase, "tal pueblo, tal gobierno"?

If you ask me, I am inclined to vote straight down one list of candidates if only to deliver the message that somersaulting and justifying "balimbing-esque" politics is something we can and will no longer tolerate.

***

It will be interesting to see how the Comelec deals with candidates whose candidacies smack of being "nuisance", with the cases of a third Aquino and a second Cayetano in mind.

Given its credibility problem, I am unsure how the Comelec will rule, but it will be one of the early bellwether signs for the May 2007 elections as to whether we will have a real "halalan" or a "bolahan"

***

What will you use as a basis for selecting your 12 senators?

I actually have a list of "qualifications", not in any order nor all-inclusive, and wonder how they jive with yours.

Youth or a youthful outlook. Included in this outlook is a considerable amount of enthusiasm, idealism and energy. Given all that needs to be corrected in our country, I think we should put to pasture politicians who no longer have energy, idealism and enthusiasm. Mind you, sometimes older folks still have more of these than younger ones!

Principle. Does the candidate clearly stand for something, and consistently? Or does the candidate stand for something today, and something tomorrow, and again something else some time later? Worse is when the change of heart is a 180-degree turn and the politician tries every trick in the logic book to justify the turn-around, oftentimes with reference to "the people" or "the people’s interests". I have greater respect, in fact, for those who hold a view diametrically opposite mine but are consistent in their viewpoint, than those who agree with me, only to disagree later on, and then agree again…if you get my point.

Integrity. Has the candidate ever been accused of anything serious enough to call into question his or her ability to be a leader in the full sense of the word, even (especially?) morally? Not that we should be in search for saints, but because we should be able to raise our standards far higher than it is at the moment.

***

I have asked listeners of the Monday-Friday program "Pananaw sa DWWW 774 kHz" who they believe the winning 12 senatorial candidates will be come May 14. I will publish this list on Monday, and so let’s wait and see what the final tally will be.

This early, though, and given the generally more pro-opposition sympathies of the program listeners, I wouldn’t be surprised if the list will be 11-1 or even 12-0 for the Opposition.

Agree or disagree?