Adel Tamano is official endorser of Vicki Belo Medical Group

Okey. So Attorney Adel Tamano, the former opposition spokesperson and now, one of the Nacionalista’s so-called ” Villar Honor Guards” is running for the Senate.  He announced that as soon as he crossed over from Erap’s camp to Villar’s.  And because he’s terribly so low in the surveys, understandable for him to do all sorts of gimmicks just to get noticed.

Like this one, agreeing to be the celebrity endorser of the Vicki Belo Group.

A big billboard stands like a sore thumb along EDSA specifically in Guadalupe. A huge photo of a smiling Adel Tamano catches your attention while you drive towards Cubao.

I have nothing against it. IN fact, that tagline which says ” Smart is the New Sexy” is just smart, not iconoclastic. Nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary. We all know that term since it went vogue in the 80′s (remember the Yuppies?).

But if Adel thinks that his latest caper would propel him to the Senate pop charts, he’s wrong. Terribly wrong. In fact, he committed a political harakiri.

Adel suffers from what Prospero Pichay and Michael “Tol” Defensor and even Satur Ocampo also experience—widely known, yet widely mistrusted.

If you study what the SWS and the Pulse Asia survey says about him, it is not that people don’t know him. He has a high awareness rating. People know him.

The question is—will they support or even vote for him? That question can only be solved not by advertising or public relations, but by building an honest-to-goodness grassroots organization.

Some close to Tamano may argue that its a chicken-egg situation—which should come first—popularity or organization. In any day, I say, organization. You become popular when people talk about you. And its really about what people talk about you that’s important.

For example, what would people think about Adel now that he’s the official endorser of Belo? Some would probably think that Adel tolerates sex videos. Others would definitely think that Adel does not mind having fake boobs or plastic surgery. Or, probably, people might think that Adel does not practise his very own religion since he endorses a vanity.

That’s the problem with sons or daughters of former political heavyweights–they think that they can get everything as easy as what their fathers or mothers did.

Getting your face out there at EDSA is the fastest and the surest way to get noticed. That’s good if you’re a celebrity. But if you’re not and you are supposed to aspire for a serious political post, endorsing a very controversial vanity product is simply the most stupid thing to do.

If Adel thinks he can do a Lacson by posing for a billboard, he’s wrong. He is nowhere near the superstar status of Ping Lacson when he did those glutathione billboards along EDSA. Besides, Ping endorsed a non-controversial product; everybody loves to use glutathione. It’s different when you’re endorsing the Belo Medical Group. And I don’t want to tell Adel Tamano why.

And if Adel thinks it was a smart move, then, he definitely is not sexy at all.

One advice to Adel—political superstardom is earned not just served to you on a silver platter. For you to become like your father, you need to prove something.  A Harvard law degree is impressive if you are aspiring to become a Justice of the Supreme Court. In Philippine politics, it’s nothing.

What’s a good image for Adel? One advice—BE YOURSELF. You don’t need Belo. You just need to go out there, pump as many hands as possible, grease your starched barong tagalog and just give people what they want—an honest-to-goodness public servant who will not steal big when in power.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is on a war path…again. He accused Villar of having a share from a 200 million double insertion for a road to be constructed or being constructed to link C-5 to Las Pinas. Anomalous? Yes, since this one is entirely illegal and outrightly immoral. 

Lacson’s timing is impeccable since it was made after Villar announced his running for the presidency. Whether Lacson’s motivation is political or not, it does’nt erase the fact that this is a very anomalous transaction. Senator Enrile’s brush-off remark is off tangent. Yes, probably it’s prudent for Lacson and Senator Jamby Madrigal to just file cases and “not disturb the Senate with all these investigations”. But the People deserve to know the truth. Senators are paid public servants and the people have the right to know whether they are conducting themselves properly or not. 

There’s a storm brewing and it’s going to the direction of Las Pinas. Or possibly these winds are blowing to the place where the highest Senate seat is? Maybe true. 

For delicadeza, Villar should relinquish his post as Senate President, right now. It does not augur well for him to cling to his post while all of these things are going on. 

Like I said, it’s risky for somebody with real estate property interests to aspire for the presidency. That person might sell every square inch of land and just might turn every rice field into real estate properties.

There’s a simple answer–Filipinos don’t trust her. In fact, six out of ten Filipinos distrust Mrs. Arroyo. That’s what numerous credible polls show.

Flashback, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s address before the people in a Rizal day speech in Baguio. Arroyo told the crowd that there’s a huge clamor for her to run despite all the polls which showed otherwise. She did ran and won not by the largest of margins but by the most suspicious one.

Now, this one. Has 7 years of being president already satiated her power lust? Or, she’s raring for another 7 years or more?

If the economic condition continues its deterioration, we expect her to say that people are clamoring for continuity, hence, she does not have any choice but to seek for another term. She can do that thru : (a) a declaration of a State of National Emergency or (b) a constitutional change. Many people believe that Gloria will use the MILF-GRP peace pact as a springboard. That route has encountered tremendous opposition before and I don’t think this administration would seriously risk its survival thru this unpopular measure.

What could be a more justifiable reason could be this economic crisis. Should this continue, we may see her declaring a State of Emergency which could prolong all thru 2009, frustrating the ambitions of many politicians who seek the highest post.

This strategy could work given that the present slate of “presidentiables” is perceived to be very thin and weak. Polls show 46 percent of people prefer a Loren-Cheez tandem, followed by a Villar-De Castro one and a Roxas-Pangilinan team. Those early polls try to establish a pattern which could change enroute to 2010.

However, this could also backfire given that at this early, people are being made to choose Gloria alternatives who’s record are far from being favorable. Without other better alternatives, people could lose hope.

Again, I ask, is Gloria really leaving in 2010?