Just say 'Thank you'

President Arroyo thanked the Nigerians for releasing the 24 Filipino seamen their rebels had held for about one month. I hope she just said "Thank you" and did not add "Come again".

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But there are two other Pinoys, or former Pinoys, still being held by rebels or bandits and the most alarming case is that of the woman who was snatched while on her way to the bank and was heard from only once since then. Sketchy reports - which our Foreign Affairs Office cannot seem to supplement up to now - say that Josiebeth Foroozan was able to contact her husband, an Iranian, only once to tell him she had been abducted.

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It has not been confirmed yet if there is truth to the report that Josiebeth had jumped off a pumpboat on which her abductors had brought her. Her family does not believe she would do that, since they know her to be a feisty person who would not give up easily. But what if she realized that her captors had evil plans on her, and knew she would not have a chance of fighting them off? I think her being a woman of courage would justify her decision to end it all, rather than submit to a fate worse than death. If that is what happened, then I admire her and respect her. Despite her marriage and probable change of nationality, she is still a true Filipina at heart, bless her.

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Meanwhile, the administration is said to be angry at the Opposition people for including an accused rebel, leader of the infamous Oxwood mutiny, Antonio Trillanes, in its senatorial line-up. It obviously cannot bear to think that the so-called United Opposition would shelter someone who had attempted to take over the government. But, as they also say, all is fair in love and politics. My unsolicited advice to the Administration team is, Don't get mad, get even. And do this by taking Gringo Honasan under your wing, too.

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Is he deserting, or just making way? The governor of Leyte, Jericho Petilla, son of the former governor who is now a congresswoman, has announced that he is pulling out from the list of senatorial bets of the so-called Unity Ticket. He has given a lot of reasons, but the grapevine says he's just making way for Richard Gomez, the movie actor who has been desperately trying to get himself into any ticket at all. But maybe young Petilla is just being pragmatic, he must know that his chances of winning are not too good. On the other hand, he is still a shoo-in for the gubernatorial post. By the way, he belongs to a dynasty there, too, if I remember right, a sister of his mother was also mayor of one of the towns there.

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The last I heard yesterday was that the UNO has changed its name to "Genuine Opposition" for which the acronym is "GO". So that will probably be their mantra during the campaign: "GO! GO! GO!" Aside from the exchanges from the candidates themselves, another source of entertainment will be the swapping of words between their spokespersons. The administration has Tourism secretary Ace Durano, while the UNO, I mean GO, has Adel Tamano. Both come from politically influential families, Durano belongs to the clan in Danao Cebu, while Adel is the son of former senator Mamintal Tamano.

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This early, one can already tell who are the bets with the limitless logistics for this election as shown by their promotion materials. In Manila, huge billboards, defying Comelec regulations, have been put up by such well-funded ones as Mike Defensor, Ping Lacson and Manny Villar. I hear that the best-looking and very likely the most expensive ones are those of Ping Lacson, who must have shiploads and planeloads of them. Let's see how much teeth Comelec has got, and if it can use them in disciplining the violators of the law.

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I heard that Ping Lacson remembered to greet the Arroyos on Valentine's Day. He told reporters that, since it was a day of love, he wished for a "Happy Valentine's Day for Mr. and Mrs. Jose Miguel Arroyo". Hmmm, just plain Mr. and Mrs., no titles? At least he didn't send his greetings to "Mr. and Mrs. Jose Pidal". Maybe he is now convinced that that was somebody else.*

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