By Alex P. Vidal
“For we must be one thing or the other, an asset or a liability, the sinew in your wing to help you soar, or the chain to bind you to earth.”—Countee Cullen
COMBATIVE Rowena Guanzon has become an eyesore in the presidential campaign of Vice President Leni Robredo, who is surrounded and endorsed by quality personalities from the academe, diplomatic circle, religious sector, lawyers’ groups, showbiz, music and entertainment, youth and civic organizations, overseas workers, and Filipino diasporas.
Every time the former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner opened her mouth to unceremoniously lash at former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in particular, Robredo lost some potential voters.
Her recurrent and incessant vitriol and admonishments of Marcos Jr. were already unnecessary and overkill.
She already shamed Marcos Jr. in her hard-hitting but ill-fated “dissenting” opinion in the dismissal case filed against Marcos Jr. when she was Comelec commissioner.
Outside Comelec—now as a retiree and a private person—Guanzon continued to lambast the leading presidential candidate like he is a descendant of Pol Pot, who orchestrated the Cambodian genocide.
Instead of hating Marcos Jr. after listening to Guanzon, some potential Robredo voters were disappointed and pitied the only son of the late former President Ferdinand Sr.
-o0o-
We have always made it clear that we are against any form of character assassination as a method of political campaign in any election.
We can always convince our family and friends to vote for certain candidates by promoting the candidates’ values and character; by echoing and propagating their “impressive” plans and programs for the country and their platform of government; and emphasizing their competence and leadership.
This is peaceful, ethical, moral, decent, dignified, healthy, fair, straightforward, educational, pro-active, and positive campaign.
We encourage this method and we exhort all candidates to adopt it.
We don’t persuade others to support and vote for our candidates by fomenting hatred, spreading lies, belittling the capability and destroying the reputation of their rivals.
It is toxic, belligerent, unethical, immoral, indecent, indecorous, unfair, impolite, unhealthy, divisive, counterproductive, and hostile campaign. And we reject this style completely.
When negative or toxic campaigners call Vice President Leni Robredo “gaga” or “mango” (dumb) and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. “magnanakaw” or “makawat” (thief), they don’t help prop up the image of their chosen candidates.
-o0o-
Let’s be careful with the words that come out of our mouths, especially when we put down or smear others in order to deodorize ourselves or collect pogi points for our candidates “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
The antagonistic behavior and hostile acts produce negative energy and the same energy will unceremoniously pull down the candidates.
Either the negative energy will backfire and damage the entire party, or it will generate multiplying bad lucks in the remaining days of the campaign period.
Both the camps of Marcos and Robredo carry these heavy baggages in their campaigns.
When their respective endorsers invent false accusations and spit slurs and venomous tirades in TikTok, campaign rallies, media interviews and public fora, they turn off a lot of voters, especially the undecided.
Tell me who your friends (campaigners) are and I will tell you who you are.
If the candidates want to attract positive energy and good vibration, they must stay away from hateful campaigners like Rowena Guanzon, Apollo Quiboloy, Larry Gadon, to name only some.
They are plain and simple political campaign liabilities.
-o0o-
OSCAR best actor Will Smith should go to jail for being a brute.
It’s unbelievable that the police did not arrest him for smacking comedian host Chris Rock during the recent 2022 Oscar telecast.
Smith must be having a personal issue; he definitely needs a psychological evaluation and anger management.
We salute Rock, a really talented and professional entertainment personality who did not lose his composure during the very tense and unpredictable moment.
Rock did not react violently and was able to carry himself calmly and managed to go on with his hosting job like a true gentleman despite Smith’s brutish behavior.
(The author, who is now based in. New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)
