Alan Peter, "just write Alan Cayetano", is of course the alleged subject of an operation to deny him victory at the polls, thanks to his incurring the ire of the First Gentleman and all the menfolk in the Arroyo family following his expose about secret bank accounts abroad, specifically in Germany.

I am not sure how much of this caused the First Gentleman’s recent health problems, because you have the other fights he had with media personalities and outlets (including our paper’s publisher), but the FG did take special notice of Alan. In fact, after a couple of hearings, the House ethics committee came close to expelling the third-termer Taguig-Pateros representative. They were stopped only because there was a growing perception then that the continuous pounding being given by the FG’s allies in the House only resulted in Alan’s rise in public opinion polls, and the fear was his expulsion would make him a "martyr" and guarantee his election.

Then came Joselito "Pepito" Cayetano, out of the blue, thanks to Oliver Lozano and a rump KBL ticket.

Lozano, of course, was the very same character who threw a monkey wrench into the Opposition’s attempt to impeach GMA in 2005. Yes, the very same one who was first to file an impeachment complaint which the House as a body found defective and without merit. Resurrected as a candidate for senator and running under the Marcos-era KBL party, Lozano this time appeared to be once again doing the Palace a favor by including in his ticket a candidate who now posed a risk of a few million votes to Alan Peter; as there were two Cayetanos on the ticket. Simply writing "Cayetano" on the ballot would make it a stray ballot, would not be counted.

Pepito, a self-proclaimed marine engineer from Davao who had only gone to Manila (according to his mother) to look for a job now found himself riding the coat-tails of the late Senator Rene "Compañero" Cayetano in a manner that could deny the latter’s real kin a seat in the Senate.

Never mind if Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the late founder of the KBL, repeatedly denied the validity of the party’s nomination of Pepito; the latter remained on the official list of candidates and will appear to continue to be so because the Comelec en banc, up to this late stage in the game, has yet to rule on the disqualification of Pepito by the Commission’s own legal department.

Neat, ‘no?

Noynoy, son and namesake of the late senator and of former President Cory, was in a similar bind some time back.

Not only was his aunt and erstwhile Erap ally Tessie Aquino-Oreta running for the Senate and thereby complicating the issue of who would be credited with an "Aquino" vote, but there also appeared another legitimate Aquino in the person of Theodore, a relative long based in the US.

Good for Noynoy, his aunt Tessie herself made it clear that she was conceding the Aquino votes to her nephew; and good for Noynoy too the Comelec legal department moved a bit more briskly in disqualifying Theodore. Yet Noynoy, like Alan, still needs to be on guard because some quarters are said to be especially targeting him as a consequence of his mother’s very public call for GMA to resign when the "Hello Garci" conspiracy first came to light.

For both Alan and Noynoy, could we expect the Comelec, especially its chair Benjamin "I want to leave a legacy" Abalos to make sure that they get a fair shake? Or, as evidenced by the snail’s pace with which the commission en banc has moved on the Pepito Cayetano disqualification, will the Comelec at best sit on its hands and do nothing and leave both gentlemen to fight off the wolves themselves?

I have said here time and again that a Comelec that allowed a "Hello Garci" conspiracy to happen is a Comelec that deserves to be hanged. And so rather than rely on the elections commission it would be best for supporters of both Alan and Noynoy to do what they can to make it difficult for the operators out there to weave their black magic. Just as when Jose de Venecia cried that he was being cheated by Erap – when the results were showing a clear mandate for the latter and a total rejection of the former, it might be necessary for Alan’s and Noynoy’s backers to ensure an outpouring of votes for the two candidates that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the dagdag-bawas operators to succeed without being too obvious.

And so, if you believe that the Senate should be populated by men and women who understand its dual function of legislation and fiscalization; if you believe in a Senate that, when necessary, becomes one of the last if not the last remaining bulwark against forces that scheme to rewrite the Constitution for selfish and hidden reasons; if you believe that daring to stand up to the most powerful forces in government rather than being "sipsip" to them is a characteristic you seek in a legislator, then make sure you include Alan Peter and Noynoy in your picks for the Senate. Better still, make sure you write down "Alan Cayetano" and "Noynoy Aquino" as the first two names on your ballot.

I am one of those who believe that everything will be done to thwart Alan and Noynoy, and I am one of those who will vote for them as my own little way of foiling the designs of those who seek to manipulate the results of what should be clean and honest elections.