Reading the signs

It's early days yet, so the Administration has no reason to panic over the recent Pulse Asia survey results showing that more opposition candidates are on the top of the list of perceived winning bets for the Senate. The topnotcher is Loren Legarda (thank goodness, she had shed off her Leviste surname long before), followed by Panfilo "Ping" Lacson. Kiko Pangilinan, who, in contrast, should adopt his wife's family name, is number three and surprise! Allan Peter Cayetano, the beleaguered congressman who is being pressed to prove his claim against the Arroyo family, is Number Four.

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Those whose names are settled comfortably are familiar ones - Manny Villar, Ralph Recto (should be Mr. Vilma Santos), and Joker Arroyo. But the latter has reportedly been roped back by GMA and company. I'm not too sure about the inclusion of J.V. Ejercito and Koko Pimentel whose wife is from Bacolod, but he is hardly known here. Gringo Honasan is on the supposedly winning bracket, too. Another surprise is the very high-profile Miguel Zubiri who, lately, has also been claiming links with Negros because of his paternal roots. He landed 17 or 18, but is not fazed, saying he used to be number 29 and that is a big leap already.

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What about the showbiz characters like Richard Gomez who seems very desperate to land a berth on any party? Has he been taken in by anyone already? Maybe Goma wants to go into politics to detract from his ebbing popularity in the movies. Even his wife is now outshining him with her successful TV shows and her well-written columns in the dailies. What about him, can he write at all? Perhaps he has forgotten that his political sorties had not exactly been shining successes.

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Then there is Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson, who, angered at the role that Erap seems to be playing in the coming elections, has presented himself as a senatorial candidate, too. I don't know how he will take it, but the fact that he had to be operated on for an aneurysm in his stomach yesterday could be a sign for him to slow down. The latest heard is that he is still determined to run in the election, and who can stop him?

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Rain continues to fall in Jakarta, stopping the return of some 200,000 residents who had to be evacuated. In the United States some schools had to be closed because temperatures had gone below zero. We should really be thankful that even if we are experiencing a bit of cold now, it is still tolerable and, in fact, sometimes comfortable. But we must pray that, despite the inexplicable vagaries of the weather everywhere, we do not have anything like snow or sleet or temperatures such as what they have in Europe, the U.S. and Scandinavian countries. For surely, we will never be able to cope with the kind of climate they have in those places.

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As for the floods, that is where we have to be more cautious and prepared. Note that we still have so many people who insist on living close to the seashores or on riverbanks. Some even build their shanties under bridges. Any sudden onrush of water, such as those from a flashflood, will surely take a huge toll of lives. If you have relatives or neighbors who are located in such dangerous places, advice them now to move to higher and safer ground.

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The kindly Marine general who so gallantly complied with his "hosts" and told his superiors that he had not been hostaged, only not allowed to leave, has finally admitted during a probe that he and his companions were indeed not allowed to go when they wanted to. Oh yes, they were treated well, but they had to stay there until their captors felt like giving them leave. But is it also true that they had, in fact, even brought some P450,000 for the MILF breakaway guys when they "visited" them? Maybe the amount was not enough? So there is more to this story than we heard about initially. Let's wait for the next installment.*

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