My initial list

The national campaign for senators has already started, but except for a few posters here and there (most of which the Comelec has ordered removed for being in the wrong places), the exercise is barely, if at all, felt in Bacolod City .

Still, I make my own initial list of Senatoriables, subject to changes as a result of information that I may receive on the candidates and as to what they will say if and when they get to Bacolod , if they get to Bacolod . My initial list includes the following, not necessarily in the stated order: 1. Sonia Roco, 2. Chiz Escudero, 3. Alan Peter Cayetano, 4. Joker Arroyo, 5. Ralph Recto, 6. Manny Villar, 7. Koko Pimentel

I am not inclined to include Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan at the moment, not so much for the "noted' thing, but for the law he authored that grants absolute exemption from criminal liability to minors 15 years and below. Although the purpose of the law is good, it has resulted in an unfortunate situation where organized and syndicated crimes have resorted to the use of minors for this absolute exemption.

The illegal drugs trade uses them as couriers of the banned substances. Also, the law makes no distinction as to what crime is committed, so that if a minor boy rapes a minor girl, or kills his or her parent, his or her age alone is an absolute defense. I am not sure if this a good law.

I am still waiting what Noynoy Aquino has to say. The difference between him and Chiz and Alan Peter is that the latter two have proven their worth in Congress. The most obvious connection of Noynoy to Senatorial aspirations is the fact that he is the son of the late great Ninoy Aquino, and former President Cory Aquino, but what does he stand for? That I have yet to hear.

Loren Legarda, who is gunning for number one, I still have to wait for her final decision on her protest concerning the vice-presidential race in the last election. As a Filipino, I want that adjudicated and settled, if only to have clear closure on allegations of cheating.

Migs Zubiri is author of the bio-fuels law, which is good for Negros , but I am having difficulty with his group's initial bombast for the abolition of the Senate. It has been the mantra of the administration that the Senate is a useless, good-for-nothing body that deserves to be eradicated, and calls for a unicameral legislative body. I have yet to hear Zubiri's comment on that.

Singson should have a case against him for declaring a net worth in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL) of only P1M. Not even a demon will believe that.

I have much sympathy for the heartaches in the military personified by Trillanes, and he seems to be an intelligent and principled person, but I am not sure if I want to encourage what looks like an armed uprising or a mutiny against civil government. For all the failings and stupidities of government, I am still for peace and non-violence. But I am willing to give Trillanes and his supporters a chance to explain himself.

Elsewhere, I believe Filipinos should deliver an emphatic statement against Manny Pacquiao in General Santos City . He is a boxer, not a congressman. It is a shame that he has been fooled into running by some unscrupulous leeches, but that is the reality of it.*