IN an election, there is no set amount that will win or lose an election. While we have rules on how much one can spend -- a set amount for a party; another for a candidate – these limits are hardly ever followed.

A candidate perceived to be richer will, over the course of the campaign, spend more than a candidate like Senator Noynoy Aquino who is perceived as not being as wealthy a candidate as several others.

Now that Noynoy has announced that he is definitely in the contest for the presidency in 2010 -- ”Tinatanggap ko ang hamong mamuno sa labang ito. Bayang Pilipinas, tatakbo po ako sa pagka-pangulo sa darating na halalan. Itutuloy po natin ang laban” – the problem now comes down to having the funds to run a campaign.

One needs, more than anything else, volunteers who will  do the actual work of campaigning, signing up volunteers, pressing flesh from Batanes to Sulu, devoting one’s life for the duration of the campaign period with one purpose in mind – victory for the candidate.

Aquino’s campaign will have to rely on volunteers. One doubts that he has as much funds as some of the other candidates.

There are skeptics who look at Noynoy’s road to making up his mind – going on retreat, praying for enlightenment – as a game that he is playing on the voter. He is doing the same things that his mother went through before deciding to run. They are wrong. Certainly, Noynoy needs as much help, not only from volunteers, but also from the ones who helped pull off the miracle that made Cory our president. How else did that miracle come about if not from the constant prayers of Cory who repeated them daily or even several times a day?

Noynoy knows this and must follow the path that his mother traveled. Hopefully, Noynoy will find the same result.

Noynoy says that he would like to become a president who will be remembered for the things that he did to make the country a better place.

To me, the thing that he brings to the table is, most important, his integrity.

Noynoy, as he had promised made his formal announcement on the 40th day of the death of his mother: ”Matagal tagal ko na rin po itong pinag-isipan and I have to declare today. Unang unang po, tinatanggap ko ang hiling ng sambayanan. Tinanggap ko rin po ang bilin, habilin at tagubilin ng aking mga magulang. Tinatanggap ko ang responsibilidad na ituloy ang laban para sa bayan.”

Aquino vowed to continue maintaining the democracy which his mother started when she led the People Power revolt in 1986 that toppled the dictatorial leadership of Ferdinand Marcos.

”I want the democracy that works not only just for the well-connected but for everybody,” he said.

Senator Biazon told Noynoy: “I served your mother President Corazon Aquino with dedication, I will serve you with dedication.”

Noynoy replied: “I hope I would be worthy of such dedication.”

***

What do we know about Noynoy? Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III was born in Manila on Feb. 8, 1960, to Corazon and Benigno Aquino Jr. His father, a senator,  opposed the rule of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. He was incarcerated by Marcos, allowed to leave for the US for medical treatment and, on his return in 1983,  was assassinated.

The killing spawned mass protests that eventually culminated in the 1986 “People Power” revolution. Corazon Aquino ruled as president from 1986 until 1992.

A graduate of economics from the Ateneo de Manila University, Aquino was congressman from 1998 to 2007.

In 2007, he was elected to the Senate for a six-year term. He belongs to the Liberal Party of the Philippines, and has been opposed to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in recent years.

Says Noynoy: “I am determined to continue the fight started by my father and my mother to see that democracy takes root and is strengthened in our country. This cannot happen in a government that serves the interest of the powerful few.” His Web site www.noynoy.ph.

In 1987, during an attempted military coup when his mother was in office, Aquino was shot by rogue soldiers at the Malacañang Palace in Manila. Three of his bodyguards were killed and he sustained five bullet wounds. One bullet is still embedded in his neck.

Aquino is single but is seeing a city councilor who is 20 years younger. He has four sisters, including popular television host and actress Kris Aquino, whose support could help his campaign.

***

We have a reaction to a recent  column: “You’re right to promote more on other type of sport rather than the basketball. Yanbu golfers was impressed totally to the performance of Angelo Que on the last European Open that was played September 10 to 13, 2009. We’re very proud to watch him competing against world class player and seeing our flag in the leader board.” -- Art G. Carpio Yanbu, K.S.A.

Our basketball coach for the national team says that while we play well, we approach basketball differently from Europeans. We have no strategy. True. If we had a strategy for our sports program, we would not be going into basketball which is clearly a tall man’s sport.