Our take on Sen. Grace Poe’s choice of running mate, Sen. Francis Escudero, is that it was ill-advised. Poe has been pilloried for mouthing the same poppycock Escudero uttered on TV about the Iglesia ni Cristo protest that led to a traffic standstill in various parts of Metro Manila. Pandering to the INC followers who occupied many streets to protest the government investigation of the criminal complaint filed by an expelled INC minister against their leaders, Poe took the side of the vote-rich INC, urging the government to refrain from meddling in a “family feud”!
At least two things were made clear to us: (1) Poe, despite being a legislator, does not know much about the law. Domestic quarrels, when they cross the line and get physical, do call for government intervention. That’s really just common sense. And (2) she is practically under Escudero’s thumb. So, when it comes to protecting friends, Poe (just like P-Noy) may not be above taking dizzying detours off the “daang matuwid”! Her adoption of that reformist slogan thus rings hollow. But all is not lost.
The country is on the cusp of being stuck once again in the morass of moral decay. Poe is the only one who, with her mass appeal, integrity and credibility, can buck the odds. But she should reconsider the idea of keeping Escudero in tow. It’s not yet too late. The guy is bad news. Having him in the bandwagon fuels the perception that she may be a poor judge of character. We think it would be better for her to run alone than to bear that albatross around her neck; this would reinforce the belief that she is “her own man” and nobody’s pushover.
The public has not forgotten how uncouth and arrogant Escudero was in front of his future in-laws at the time he was supposed to be asking for their blessing; after all, the occasion demanded of him to put his best foot forward, as a true gentleman would. Instead, he was hubris personified.
That his in-laws may have forgiven him for the sake of their misty-eyed daughter and are now smiling from ear to ear does not necessarily mean the public has, too. By and large, the Filipinos’ respect for their elders is non-negotiable. Escudero may yet learn that lesson the hard way.
—ROSE ANNE BARTOLOME, roseannebar88@yahoo.com