Take It Or Leave It / Lita Manalastas-Watanabe

Take it or Leave it! ADVICE NI TITA LITS

Isabelita Manalastas-Watanabe

Dear Tita Lits: Sino po iboboto ninyo this coming May 2022 elections?

Rosarito Sakae, Nagoya

Dear Rosarito:

This is the shortest ever question I have received in my many years of writing this advice column in Jeepney Press!

Your question is actually, the most difficult question I had to respond to. My answer to you cannot be in only one sentence or a few words (like naming my personal choice).

I have an office in Sakae, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken. I do remember that during the last presidential election, at least one of my senior staff , originally from Mindanao, understandably was for our current President Rodrigo Duterte (Du30). I recall that there was one Filipino organization in Nagoya (or Gunma? - can’t recall) whose members were die-hard Du30 supporters. They wanted him to win as they sincerely believed that he is the answer to our country’s many problems and woes. They raised funds voluntarily for Du30, and wrote to our Nagoya office for a donation. My senior staff communicated with our Tokyo HO if a donation can kindly be approved. The Tokyo HO President’s advice was to stay neutral and not openly support any candidate.

When Du30 won the election and visited Japan during the early year/s of his presidency, I was one of the hundreds of Filipinos/OFWs who queued up for a standing only, full-capacity venue for the opportunity to meet in person our arguably one of the most-admired Presidents (during at least his first year in power). I was seated almost in the front row with some friends. OFWs cheered and clapped when he arrived with a big number of top ranking Philippine officials. That was how popular our President was. But this is not what I wanted to really focus on.

The President arrived around 2 hours late for the meeting. To ensure that the audience will not get bored, or worse, leave (as some came from very far prefectures outside of Tokyo), the organizer/s decided to show an official video about the Philippines. People became quieter and focused their attention on the video. When in one portion, our Vice President Leni Lobredo appeared/talked, suddenly there was some big noise. I looked back at the audience as I thought they were cheering for our VP. But no! I realized they were booing her! I was really surprised and shocked, to say the least, at how we Filipinos can be so rude, and so disrespectful of our top government officials, and to our second highest ranking official at that! I lost my cool at this lack of courtesy of my co-OFWs, and told a friend seated next to me, that I could not take this, and I would like to walk out of the room.

You know what my friend said? “Do you want your company to lose its clients?” I sat down.

This year’s Presidential election is, for me, a most interesting one. I have lived in Japan for around 35 years or so already, and I am not very much updated on what is happening in our country. Most of the “news” I get, I receive from my several viber groups (our family clan’s viber; a Jokers Group; Southern California Pusong UPSE; Pusong UPSE community; UP Econ ’74; JASHS 1970 Group; UPSEAA Community; etc.) and many individual friends, with different “colors” – red, pink, green, etc.

I am writing this Tita Lits column right now in Baguio, where I am staying and doing my telework, before I fly back to Tokyo on April 19.

Last night, Sunday, March 27, I had dinner with family and a friend, at Banana Leaf restaurant inside SM Baguio. It was the last day of the Panagbenga 2022 Festival, with the theme “Let Hope Bloom”. Beautiful theme, destroyed by a sudden big noise and shouting just outside of the restaurant after the finale (fireworks) of the festival was over. I had some problem with my right hip and could not stand up right away (senior na senior na kasi!) to see what is the noise about. I told my friend it may be a terrorist attack, or a bomb threat so we should rush out of the restaurant. Other customers at the restaurant also looked surprised and concerned. I told my friend to check, and maybe take a photograph of what is happening. She came back after a few seconds, saying it was a shouting match between BBM supporters and the Leni Pink camp! There goes Let Hope Bloom. Now I am worried of possible violence when the election is just almost around the corner…

I did not know ‘Yorme”/Isko Moreno, current mayor of Manila. I just chanced at his YouTube interview by Toni Gonzaga, and I became so impressed about his life story – from rags, to richest, to being a most popular Mayor of Manila. (At siyempre, ang gwapo!). I told my family clan viber group that he can be a good president. I got a backlash from at least one family member, who wrote, “Auntie, di-mo ba alam na bomba star siya?” (I did not know this). I did more research on him and formed my opinion (maybe much too ambitious and too much in a hurry, to be in the highest position of the land?). I thought another stint as a Mayor of Manila is a sure win for him, then continue to do more good for the city, be a little bit more mature, and then be more ready and have a better chance at winning the presidency. Six years is not really a long time to wait for a young person like him.

Then, there is Pacquiao. I admire him for his seemingly very honest intention of helping the poor. He was dirt poor one time, and wants to share his financial blessings. Even his own mother reportedly said that mauubos lang pera niya at hindi naman siguradong mananalo (at the embarrassment of her son during campaign sortie). Pacquiao may not be as educated as all the other Presidential candidates, but he believes that he is the chosen one.

I personally think that lack of high education (let that mean, speaking in very good English) should be a deterrent. Look at Indonesian Presidents – they always speak in Bahasa. Bahala na kung hindi maintindihan ng madlang people sa buong mundo ano sinasabi nila. Let those interested to hear and know more about Indonesia listen patiently to the consecutive/simultaneous translation of the speeches made, either within Indonesia or in international organizations like the U.N., etc. Indonesian people are As to Ping Lacson, what I do know for sure is that he is probably the only one (I think the only one) among our senators/congressmen who never touched his pork. Ito yong pork barrel funds allocated and given to our Senators/Congressmen legally, to carry out their various projects nationwide and/or region/province-wide. It is a given that this pork worth millions of pesos will tempt anyone from abusing this ‘privilege’ at having huge funds at their disposal, purportedly, “to serve their constituents”. I heard from a reliable source, that a minimum of around at least 30% of the pork is lost, and end up to the offcials’ pockets. Additional extra “income” for our elected officials, are the bribes that private companies are ready to give, in exchange for being awarded the contract for the various projects.

Unfortunately for Ping, the first survey on who people will vote for the next President came much too early, even before he could again try to clear himself of past things that still cling to his skin, despite the fact that he has already done his best, or has been successful already in clearing his name (e.g., Kuratong Baleleng incident, etc.). He ended up as one of those in the bottom of the survey results. That harmed him a lot. I know of several friends whose first choice was Ping, but later, after the survey results were published, decided to vote for their second choice. Masasayang lang daw ang boto nila, kasi no way na mananalo si Ping.

I can vouch that Ping is not corrupt, as I am privy to the fact of the saving and release from kidnapping from ransom of the son of one of my very good friends, who is in the Fortune Magazine’s list of the top 40 richest Filipinos. Ping declined the thank-you-money offered to him (in the millions, guys). Robina Gokongwei of the re-known Gokongwei family (she is in one of my viber groups), during a eulogy for her late father, made special mention of Ping. Maybe the many rich Chinese-Filipinos will be happy for a Ping presidency, if only Oh – JP Ed-in-Chief Dennis Sun may not have any space anymore for my very lengthy response to the shortest (one-sentence question) ever received by Jeepney Press.

Tito Dennis - just a little more information, before I conclude:

1. I like what a friend told me: “Vote for who your conscience dictates, no matter the chances of winning is, for your candidate”;

2. Vote for a candidate with no record of corruption, as being corrupt seems to be endemic in our system of government;

3. The right qualification (education and/or past training/accomplishments as a government official) should be of prime importance in making our choice;

4. Let us believe in Divine Providence, and pray that God will, at this time, pay more attention and give pity to our poor country, and thus, save us from disaster;

5. Whoever wins, as long as it is a clean and clear win, we, Filipinos should do our best to support him/her, respect him/her, and do our duty to contribute, no matter how small, to the betterment of our beloved Philippines, so we could be out of being (again) the sick man of Asia.

May the best candidate who can do the best for our country and our people win!!!

(P.S. Sorry, Rosarito – I have actually not answered your question! I, however, continue to pray for Divine Providence - “Thy will be done”).

Tita Lits

Isabelita Manalastas-Watanabe

Jeepney Press

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Courtesy of Team Leni Robredo Global Japan

Courtesy of Team Leni Robredo Global Japan