I AM NOT VOTING FOR GIBO

A friend, a huge Gibo supporter, once told me that my view on Gibo is biased and I was influenced by the media's black propaganda against him. She then bombarded me with statistics, articles, and testimonies showcasing that Gibo is who this country needs.

My stand on Gibo is not based on what the media says, not on any statistic or testimony, but on my personal experience with the government and personal research (reading, interviews, tracing histories, etc.). So why am I not voting for Gibo? Simple. I can tell you matter-of-factly now that Gibo is not the cleanest of the lot.

First of all, he is GMA's ally. "But GMA should be considered innocent until proven guilty!" was the retort I got. (It was a pathetic retort, actually, and thus there's no need to discuss whether she's corrupt or not.) Let's, instead, apply this principle to Gibo. In other words, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and pretend that he's not corrupt like the person he has allied with. But can you honestly tell me that he has no knowledge of how corrupt GMA's admin is? Can you honestly tell me that he's unaware how this corrupt government system works? I'm a lowly citizen and I know. Hell, everybody in this country knows!

Of course, Gibo knows. He'd be a fool not know. It saddens me that he's tolerating the system, even defending it. He reasoned that he can't turn his back on someone who has given a 45-year-old man like him a break. Tsk! Tsk! Ain't that too much of a goodwill for a man who claims to be excellent and intelligent? If you're striving for excellence, shouldn't you fight against corruption, against corrupt officials no matter how indebted you are to them? If you're gifted with intellect, shouldn't you use it to get to where you want and not let others use you? Makes me wonder what more dirty jobs he's willing to do for her.

Another example of him tolerating and supporting tainted politicians is his decision to welcome Mangudadatu into his party right after he expelled the Ampatuans. Yet, before the massacre happened, Gibo appealed to the Mangudadatus not to exercise their legal and democratic right to run for public office to avoid violence. Now ain't that ironic? For him to discourage the Mangudadatus before the massacre, then stepping up only when all hell broke loose...how cowardly! What's even worse, ask anyone from Maguindanao and he'll tell you that the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus are one and the same. Both have private armies, both are accused of murder and attempted murder, both have arsenals. Why expel someone from your party and welcome another who has committed the same atrocities? Where's the logic in that? He's a perfect example of a trapo politician who jumps from one sick horse to another to win the race.

What about the DND arsenal found in Maguindanao? There's absolutely no excuse for it. It's either he's incompetent not to have known about it, or he's corrupt to have supplied it. Yes, dissolving private armies is not that easy, but if you're excellent and intelligent as claimed, ain't two years enough for you to have at least controlled it? He said, he needed conclusive intelligence and prima facie evidence so he could disarm these armies. I find that too lame. The buried arsenal could supply a battalion (that's around 300 to 1300 men!), and local residents could attest for their kins who have been murdered by these private armies. If you have 'galing at talino', it shouldn't be too hard to gather enough intelligence and evidence when it's just lying in front of you. It's so disappointing to hear these excuses from someone who supposed has galing at talino.

I cringe on the fact that Gibo's supporters brandish his leadership during typhoon Ondoy as heroism. It was his job to act on it (for God's sake!). His wasn't heroism but rather a way to make up for slacking off as head of NDCC. Had he done a better job, NGOs and ordinary citizens wouldn't have to go out and risk their own lives to help. Yes, it was an act of nature and nobody could have prepared for it, but slight anticipation would have sufficed. It was obvious that NDCC was caught off-guard and empty-handed. Lucky Gibo, everyone helped out and it made his job easier.

And what about the Coco Levy Fund? Didn't GIBO orchestrate the plot to impeach Hilario Davide to sway the SC's ruling in favor of Danding? Is this the kind of president you want? Someone who schemes unkindly against our poor farmers?

I remember when Davide was asked what's the motive behind the impeachment, he simply replied, "Because they can't twist my arm." Davide had a close encounter with GIBO's galing at talino and that's exactly why he's not voting for him.

In conclusion, there's absolutely no question GIBO is smart and eloquent. But is he really what this country needs? This country is dipping into depression not because we lack intelligent leaders but because we have too much intelligent untrustworthy leaders who strategize not for this country but for their own pockets. So what makes his galing at talino so special? Nothing special, actually. As someone had perfectly put it, and I quote, "He's a genial man sitting quietly in a waiting room, a pleasant man with a pleasant face, a man capable of sacrificing principle for popular opinion, taking little responsibility for his omissions, horse-trading lives for power.”