Everybody wants Steady Eddie

Now everybody is talking about the possibility of an alliance involving former president Cory Aquino, and former president Joseph Estrada. Of course everybody has the same suspicion as to the purpose of the teaming up, which, if true, does not bode well for the incumbent in Malacanang. All this began with that confirmed "secret meeting" held not so secretly recently by FVR, Drilon and former Senator Vicente Sotto III.

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The opposition people are waiting with bated breath as to what will come out of the alleged meetings and alliance-forming. Will they end up marching along Mendiola, too? Or will it be back to EDSA for another People Power 3 or 4 or 5? But the Palace continues to dismiss such speculations as rubbish. It says the President is still confident that FVR is more her friend than theirs. Is he? Remember, he was also the defender of Tita Cory, and she did not ignore his advices.

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Maybe Steady Eddie is miffed because he came out solidly behind GMA when the going was toughest. That was when he made the recommendation that she agree to a charter change, and make the sacrifice of shortening her term. You know, when she gave that State of the National Address shortly after the Hello Garci brouhaha, everybody thought she had accepted his advice since she ordered Congress to start debating on the cha-cha already.

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It turned out that she and FVR were not on the same wave length, that she had other ideas for her cha-cha. And these do not include any cut in her tenure, because she fully intends to go all the way. You can't blame Steady Eddie for feeling bad - he must be thinking that he had been had. Anyway, the attitude of Malacanang towards him now is still very conciliatory. The people there must know that the three, if they get together, can make up a very potent trio. And if former Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma had not gone to claim her eternal reward this week and had opted to makeup a quartet - just imagine what powerful songs they could sing!

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More than ever, the world, especially the Philippines, is finding out how women can get into anything that creates controversy, and play very important roles in them. There was the case of General Carlos F. Garcia, whose talkative wife got him into all the troubles that he is now facing. Then there was that Sgt. Vidal Doble in the Hello Garci case whose lover blabbed about how she had the run of the sanctum sanctorum of the military and became privy to all the taping secrets there.

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There was, of course La Rosebud, albeit a bit wilted already, who tried her best to make life hell for former general, now Senator Ping Lacson. And don't forget Ms. Sandra Cam, the bane of the Brothers Arroyo's lives, who made a big stir during l'affaire Jose Pidal. Now we have another woman, the estranged wife of would-be whistle-blower for the Philippine Air Force, Col. Efren Daquil. Mrs. Emi Daquil, with copious tears, denounced her truant husband, telling the media what she believes to be the reason why he is making his exposé on the shenanigans in the PAF.

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Even if the Philippines is ranked second only to Iraq in the number of slain journalists, its practitioners are not the only ones who get indicted for libel. The other day, the Pasay City prosecutor endorsed the libel charge, with P20 million sought as damages, filed against former Social Welfare secretary Dinky Soliman. The case was filed by Congressman Rodante Marcoleta whom she allegedly named as the one used by Malacañang to endorse the impeachment complaint against GMA by Oliver Lozano, that was later regarded as a red herring only.

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That shows that politicians, or political protegees may filed charges against each other for their comments, but they don't resort to liquidating them as the targets of some "hard-hitting" media people are doing. But even among themselves, journalists sometimes joke that some of their ilk hit with words, but others hit the pockets. Those who believe they've been wronged, however, also often respond not with words, but with bullets.*

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