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Game changer in Pampanga

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IT MAY well be the sign of the political times. Those who can feel, even see, which way the political wind is blowing, must be ready to make the necessary adjustment, assuming they haven’t yet. The alternative may not be consistent with their plans.

The morning after, so it has been written, Pampanga has made history, again. It has broken the record on which province has given the largest attendance to the presidential rally of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan so far, thus far. The province record stands out and could be the highest.

By official estimate, there were no less than 220,000 warm bodies, young and old, men and women, rich and poor in the most egalitarian support for an underdog of a presidential aspirant, a woman, chasing what seems like an elusive dream. There was a 92- year old woman, seated in what looked like a wheel chair, so eager to show her support for Leni she had to beg her children to carry her to where the rally was. There was also an old farmer who was embraced by Kiko, overwhelmed by his emotion.

It was picture-perfect. Most of the attendees braved the suffocating heat in proper political dress color and with some corresponding paraphernalia and mostly stood, wait and listen for nearly 12 hours. Pampanga cultural emblems as backdrop completed underscored the point.

If all this were a thermostat, those who don’t share her dream, even oppose it,may have reasons to worry. It began in Cavite, bolstered in Pasig City and other unexpected places, in Pangasinan where she turned the much-bruited about Solid North upside down, and lately in Pampanga where her loyal and unfazed supporters defied what amounted to be a power taunt.

Days before, the province’s favorite daughter, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, asked her kabalen- indirectly vowed,in a sense– to give the president’s daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte,a vice presidential bet, a landslide victory in the home of the brave. It might as well have been an indirect endorsement of another former president’s son, Bongbong Marcos aka BBM. After all, it is said they had dinner later.

Some took it as a dare or an insult. How could she? The late father , former president sought a political asylum during the dark days of the dictator’s regime for fear of his safety. Historical revisionism at work?

On the day of the rally, a young man on the stage summed up what the rally was partly about. On his shirt was boldly emblazoned a black-and-white challenge: nanung landslide(what landslide). No period, no question mark, no exclamation point. Just a bold commentary.

A few days after, BBM displayed his popularity among the nation’s governors behind him—not less than 80 percent of them said his lawyer– when he released a photo having a tete-a-tete with them. In a democratic setting, which the late Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew applauded for its egalitarian value, where one woman or man, regardless of position can only have one vote, that should not arithmetically count much. Power, however, is a known multiplier of many things, apart from votes. Except that ,rallies may trump that.

BBM and his camp may be aware and wary of the series of potential tipping points in the presidential campaign 2022. Based on surveys, he’s leading by a comfortable margin. But the unbelievable growing crowds that have lifted Robredo’s campaign from the doldrum is serious concern enough for BBM he warned his supporters against ‘complacency”.

In his introduction to his bestselling book “The Tipping Point”, author Malcolm Gladwell said that “changes” can be likened to epidemics. Ideas, products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do. Are the kakampinks’ rallies political epidemics?

Unmistakably, there are spreading epidemics and politicians worth their salt are keeping their ears close to the ground for unusual movements, signs or sounds. The Pinedas may be one of them, among others who can sense what’s in the wind. When the Leni-Kiko team came to Pampanga, Gov. Delta Pineda and her mom, Vice Gov. Nanay Pineda gave them a respectable welcome. They showed they were equal opportunity politicians.

As I write this, a former local executive has sent me a long text message, excerpts from it are as follows:

a. A BBM-Sara rally was supposed to be held after the Leni-Kiko rally last Saturday. It was cancelled.

b. GMA, the Pinedas and allied LGU officials apparently were surprised by the overwhelming response of the Kapampangans in last Saturday’s rally, considering GMA’s earlier promise of landslide victory for Sara.

c. Being legends in their own minds, they thought they could muster a bigger crowd that showed up for Leni and Kiko. They were mistaken.

d. The conclusion: to match the 220,000 attendance was unattainable and costly.

The unprecedented response of Kapampangans to the Leni-Kiko rally last Saturday has exposed the political vulnerability of popular and well-known political leaders in the province. Politics, it seems, is no longer simply local.

Some political pundits believe the trend now is on rally performance rather than survey ranking .It is there, they say, where the real sentiments of the people are shown with convincing authenticity and compelling energy. Robredo may have already discovered and confirmed these as shown by the recent uprecedented surges in her rallies from Cavite to Cebu, Pangasinan to Pampanga.

American political journalist Joe Klein wrote in his book “Political Lost” that a great politician,acting out of principle,can overturn existing public opinion. Robredo may be on her way. The foreseeable future should be exciting, indeed.

 

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