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Stories from a Presidential Election

Chay F Holea Miriam Grace A Go

CACHO PUBLISHING HOUSE

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Published by Cacho Publishing House Text copyright, except for the publishers note, by Chay F Holea and Miriam Grace A Go 2011. The copyrights to the photographs in this book remain with the original copyright owners. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the written consent of the publisher, the authors and/or the photographers. For further inquiries, please contact Cacho Publishing House, Inc. at Pines cor. Union Sts., 1501 Mandaluyong, Philippines. Tel: 631.8361 Fax: 631.5244 or our distributors, Anvil Publishing at 671.9230, 671.9233, Fax: 914.0155. For e-mail inquiries, please use cachobooks@gmail.com. The publisher wishes to thank the Ateneo School of Government and Newsbreak for their help during the launch of this book as well as Ms Daphne Oliveros for her inputs towards the design of the cover.
I S B N 978-971-19-0301-5

789711 903015

Book Design and index by Ramn C Sunico

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For Filipinos still in search of the ideal leader worthy of their trust

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Publishers Note
in the long run, a people is known, not by its statements or its statistics, but by the stories it tells. Flannery OConnor1

In our penchant for self-agellation, we often describe ourselves as a people who have a short attention span and an even shorter memory. We do this especially when we refer to the behavior of those we should turn to for leadership and example in the conduct of our affairs as citizens. This book is one attempt among many to shore our experiences up against the erosion that comes from distraction and forgetfulness. (After all, the journey to a mature nation counts the passage of generations instead of kilometers.) It focuses on the past presidential election that, as this books conclusion will show, parallels in an uncanny way an earlier critical election that, even as it failed, succeeded in bringing about the fall of our rst dictator. And because we live in a time when the instruments of the social sciences are seen as measurements of social and communal truths, this book is replete with all the three s-words mentioned in the epigraph above: statements, statistics, and stories. For statements, there are the pronouncements not only of politicians and candidates, nor of just the analyses of campaign handlers and reporters who are quoted extensively in this book, but also of common people as they speak to the leaders they have taken into their hearts. For statistics, there are the many demographic snapshots taken by the countless polling and survey specialists, both for public consumption and reserved for internal analysis, that informed the varied strategies and tactics of the candidates campaign handlers. Yet, the reason for the publication of this book is to remember. And to remember, the best way is to tell stories, stories about people with dreams, talent, ambition, money, and power, people who came

viii Ambition Destiny Victory

together to bring one among them to the highest position in the land. Stories, after all, engage a communitys attention in a way neither statistics nor statements can. Statistics change with the passing of seasons and moods (thus the unending nature of polls and surveys). Statements can shock or impress but only momentarily. Stories, however, even as they can be exible enough to include both statistics and statements, aspire to the recognition of our shared humanity. Properly written, they attract our whole attention, that of our minds, our hearts, and our souls. They educate us in the original meaning of the word. They lead us out of our closed rooms to the community that makes such rooms both possible and safe. This is why it is stories that we pass on to friends and hand down to our children and their children after them. It is this sense of story that attracted me to this project of Chay F Holea and Miriam Grace A Go. From one angle, one can read this book for lessons on how to win or lose a campaign. Budgets and logistics are amply discussed. Approaches to handling media are compared in both the main texts, the side stories, and even the notes at the end of each chapter. But from another angle, this book brings us to an understanding of the persons who dare to dream of leading our nation. And by seeing how they are as persons rst, we see beyond the two-dimensional images foisted upon us during what we like to call the silly season. The candidates of the last election then are shown here as people and as fellow citizens. The authors have included four presidential candidates and two who ran for vice president under remarkable circumstances. Evocative of the famous quote by Shakespeare,2 some were brought to this pass as a result of their own efforts to improve their position in life. Others saw themselves as blessed or burdened by a destiny hopelessly intertwined with the nations. Some pursued the resolution of a dramatic narrative distracted by tragic aws and tricks of both fate and men. And still others saw a vision of a better way of doing things and desired to make this vision true. More than this, however, the reader will discover, in the main chapters and the side stories that accompany them, how such daring, ambitious personalities applied themselves to the often cruel

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PUBLISHER S NOTE

ix

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rcs Mandaluyong
1. The full quote is, There is a certain embarrassment about being a storyteller in these times when stories are considered not quite as satisfying as statements and statements not quite as satisfying as statistics; but in the long run, a people is known, not by its statements or its statistics, but by the stories it tells. It is mentioned in Lost Sheep, by the editors of America, March 17, 2008 (See also http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10683.) 2. Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. Twelfth Night (II, v), [spoken by Malvolio], William Shakespeare

demands of managing people, power, and resources; how they responded to the blandishments of popularity, the dull pain of betrayal, and the ckle moods of the very people they wooed. We see how, like us, but in a grander scale, they are products of both their forebears and their own personal past as much as they are vessels of the future, propelled forward by vision and desire. We read about how they return affection, yes, but also injury. We learn about how some hold on and why others let go. This book then leads out of the pointless convenience of demonization and the easy boxes of political expediency and shows how our leaders invested not only money or time or effort but their very humanity in our peoples favorite form of both government and entertainment. Because it does that, it helps us realize that at least one way to win in the political game, is to step out of it and so, to learn.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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A book one year in the making would not have been possible without the help and support of friends, colleagues, loved ones. We can only say thank youto Maria Althea Teves and Victoria Camille Tulad who did valuable research for this project and who provided excellent transcripts of all our interviews. To Joey Holea who co-nanced this book and very patiently waited for us to nish all the work. To the three Policarpios who stayed up late with us during deadline. To them, we offer not only our thanks, but our love as well. To RayVi Sunico who believed this to be a worthwhile project and readily assumed multiple tasks. To Mark Escaler and Glenda Gloria who read early drafts and shared their comments and suggestions on how to make them better. To the Ateneo School of Government and its dean, Tony La Via, for encouraging us to pursue stories of the presidential campaigns. To Newsbreak writers, researchers, staff, colleagues who unselshly shared their knowledge, insights, and expertise. To photographer friends and LeAnne Jazul for helping us source photos. To Booma Cruz for facilitating access to Probe Proles video documentaries. To Daphne Oliveros for taking time to read and giving us an indication of whether this book can engage young readers. To Ellen and Johann Chua of Figaro at the Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan for providing us a pseudo ofce conducive to writing. To our 60-plus interviewees from political camps and parties; to strategists, tacticians, pollsters, advertising agency experts, television and print journalists, and candidates who sat down with us through lengthy conversations and recollections. Thank you, truly. CFH & MAG Quezon City

Writing and reconstructing stories can be both a lonely and spiritual experience. Fortunately, we had each other to keep each one company through online chats, Skype and SMS messages when we found ourselves faced with blinking cursors on a white, blank screen. And when night crossed over to day, and the words nally owed from an inexplicable source, we knew there had to be something or someone beyond us.

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Publishers Note ~ vii
CHAPTER 1

CONTENTS

TORCHBEARER

Benigno Simeon Noynoy Cojuangco Aquino III ~ 1

Mar Roxass stunning upset ~ 55

CHAPTER 2

THE BUSINESSMAN AS POLITICIAN

The road not taken ~ 107

Manuel Manny Bamba Villar Jr ~ 77

CHAPTER 3

CHAMPION OR ROGUE? THE SEQUEL

Joseph Ejercito Erap Estrada ~ 115

Replaying 1998 ~ 142 Eraps choice ~ 151 The rise of Jejomar Binay ~ 156

CHAPTER 4

WRONG TURN FOR MR RIGHT

Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo Gibo Cojuangco Teodoro Jr ~ 187

Glorias killer endorsement ~ 212 LAKAS-KAMPI ~ 220

CONCLUSION

LESSONS FROM A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Media magic or magicking media? ~ 244 Auditing automation ~ 249
Index of Names ~ 256

~ 235