Minguita's letter
By Antonio J. Montalvan II

HARDLY surprising, in this age of cyberspace, that a letter from eye doctor Minguita Padilla currently making the rounds of the Internet, reaches us in Mindanao. What's surprising is how it has reached us probably about a dozen times, each time from a different source. Not only for its Internet popularity do I give way to Minguita's letter, for which she so kindly gave her imprimatur.

In no way can I reproduce here Minguita's "Dear Friends" letter in toto, for obvious space constraints. Hopefully though, the snippets that we can gather already drive home the point. Here it goes:

"I have tried to refrain from commenting about Loren and her decision to run as Poe's running mate, but my conscience has been prodding, no, rather nagging me to do so. No rancor or malice is in my heart. But given the very sensitive topic at hand, I must apologize in advance for any sensibilities that I may hurt.

"Many of the people behind the Poe candidacy are individuals whom I consider friends and who have helped me immensely in my work and my advocacy for the Eye Bank. Foremost among them is Ed Angara who not only authored the bill that would make possible my dream of having an eye banking system in the country; but also personally worked for its passage into law. I will never forget the night he called the house just to tell me that the bicameral committee approved the bill, making it one of the fastest bills ever passed. He was also the only senator who ever donated part of his CDF to the eye bank, and for this I will always be grateful. Aquilino Pimentel, whose friendship with my late father blossomed when Daddy was the head of the Senate electoral tribunal that proved he was a victim of Juan Ponce Enrile's 'dagdag bawas' scam, is someone whom I have also held in high regard.

"Loren is a high school batchmate. This counts for something. But certain things transcend friendship and camaraderie. And neither can make me blind to what I believe is the immense disservice these people have committed to the Filipino people by choosing to inflict Fernando Poe Jr. on us as a presidential candidate, particularly at this point in our history when we are fighting a desperate battle for political maturity and international respect. The friendship only makes this realization more painful.

"I have nothing against movie stars running for public office per se. Just for the record, I happen to think Vilma Santos is one of the best mayors Lipa City has ever had. But the presidency is not the mayoralty. And FPJ is not Vilma Santos. Poe is notorious for drunken bouts that last for days, not just hours, making him an even more 'legendary' alcoholic than Erap.... This man has not held even the lowliest government position, nor can he give an intelligent opinion on any of the major problems plaguing the country and world today, reducing every issue to one-liners and empty slogans. He also happens to pay one of the smallest income taxes among all movie personalities, notwithstanding his large income, throwing all illusions of honesty to the wind. The list goes on....

"And this is the man the above-mentioned persons, as well as the political dinosaurs behind him, are trying to shove down our throats as the best president for our times because he is popular with the 'masa' and he is 'sincere.' The 'masa' are ignorant. They are not stupid. There is a world of difference between the two. It behooves those in power to try to enlighten and educate the ignorant and misinformed, not take advantage of their ignorance just so that they can propagate themselves in power.

"Even this early, there are already indications of how chaotic a Poe presidency will be. At the end of the day, no matter how good one's advisers are, it is the president who makes the decision. Whose advice will Poe follow if he does not have any inkling as to the intricacies or implications of the issues at hand? What guiding policy will he follow? Even opium loses its power as soon as reality steps in. And few things can be worse than a hungry and desperate people suddenly realizing that they have been victims of a well-orchestrated and dastardly deception. What then?

"I truly believe those in power who have chosen the path of supporting the Poe candidacy have squandered an opportunity for true heroism. If Ed Angara or Nene Pimentel for that matter had chosen to run for president in spite of their perceived lack of charisma instead of choosing to prop up a puppet, and if those now running with Poe chose to support them instead, then they would have done this country a great favor.

"This heroic act would have sent a strong message to our people that leaders should be elected based on credentials to lead, not on perceived popularity or false illusions. As a famous columnist so aptly put it, the present campaign is now being fought on the 'burlesque stage.' And sadly, I know who to hold accountable."

Thank you, Minguita. Under a Poe presidency, we too know who to hold accountable. Perhaps this burlesque politics is just the right antidote to entertain us away from the sad state of our country. It is true after all. Ang bayan ang bida, sila ang kontrabida.

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