Run, Leni, run!

By Herbert Vego

TWO entertainment celebrities – Sharon Cuneta and Vice Ganda — have publicly urged Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo  to reconsider running again for president in 2028 despite her announced decision to remain focused on re-election for mayor.

“Please reconsider,” Sharon asked her in an Instagram post.

Why not? Such a rerun could vindicate Robredo, who “lost” the first time around to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022.

“Lost” is in quotation marks to stress the doubtful loss of Robredo and Sharon’s husband, now Senator Francis Pangilinan, to Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, respectively.

To recall, Marcos garnered 31,629,783 votes, or more than double Robredo’s 15,035,773. Why unbelievable? Yes!

Let us not forget that Robredo had bested Marcos for vice-president in 2016 with 14,418,817 votes against his 14,155,344 votes – a margin of more than 200,000 votes despite the election protest he had filed against her. So, why the big reversal of fortune in 2022?

In all six years of her term as vice-president, Robredo remained unblemished with no issue raised against her.

In the same period, Marcos was a private citizen.

Because of those facts, I suspect the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to have rigged the polls to favor what was then known as the “uniteam” of Pres. Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte.

Madam Leni did not protest, probably because it was good enough for her that the Dutertes had lost autocratic power.

I will not be surprised if she runs for president again in 2028, maybe this time against Sara, with the support of BBM.

As regards Vice Ganda, magpakalalaki na kuno siya if Leni runs. Eh di wow!

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ON MORE POWER’S SCADA SYSTEM

IN the latest episode of the video show “More Power at Your Service,” program host Angel Tan had Mark Anthony Molano as resource person on “unmanned substations”.  He is the manager of the Substation Project of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power).

He revealed that from five substations that MORE Power had taken over from the previous distribution utility, there are now nine of them, modernized to function unmanned, through the initiative of MORE Power President Roel Z. Castro.

Molano attributed the “magic” to the company’s centralized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) system. So far, it’s the only one of its kind in Panay Island.

The SCADA system is a harmony of software, hardware, and intelligent programming that allows the monitoring, control, data recording and forecasting of its system in a single, computer-equipped building.

The Control Center has the capability to control circuit breakers and switches of all substations remotely, without the need for manual intervention in the respective facilities, allowing personnel to be reassigned to more critical roles.

“This enables us to control the substations in real-time for whatever problems may arise,” Molano said. “We have a maintenance crew available when that happens.”

The bad news to thieves, however, is that each substation has a team of security guards.

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KUDOS TO DR. MINDA J. FORMACION

IT’S not every day that one hears about a Filipino educator honored by a foreign government. That’s why we feel proud of Dr. Minda Jamilosa Formacion, former Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), for winning an award by the government of Japan.

She was recently honored with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays – which recognizes her role in strengthening friendship between Japan and the Philippines — during the 2026 Spring Conferment Decorations for Foreign Nationals.

Dr. Formacion had been president of the Philippine Association of Japanese Government Scholars (PHILAJAMES) Visayas Chapter.

It was she, way back in 1999, who worked for the establishment of a Japanese language course at the UP-Visayas.

She still serves as a member of the board of directors of Philajames-Visayas. For the past 30 years, she has helped promote the Japanese government scholarship program.

On a personal note, she was my Zoology professor; also, a reader of my column.