ROUND 12 (AT THE CIRCUS)

Koko versus Migz. It’s the 53rd round of a match being fought by two gladiators who both originate from the south. All attention is focused on the valiant macho men when suddenly, Benjamin ‘hot soup’ Abalos grabs the microphone from Richard Buffer, slowly approaches the center of the ring and just as slowly, announces: “And the winner is… Pichay!”

That scenario is far from being improbable, sans Richard buffer, of course. It can be done. With buwayang GMA leery of a less than friendly senate (one more puppy-like senator would be more than welcome), with lintang Bedol having already inflicted the damage to the votes, with ganadong Migz all agog to address his fellow senators, and with God being very busy in Africa and the Middle East, it will be done. (I’m really sorry God for lumping you up with such a distinguished company but I did give you an excuse, didn’t I? At least!)

So Zubiri will be proclaimed the 12th senator-elect. Koko should stop protesting. Abalos and his cohorts need only to iron out the remaining kinks and Migz will then raise his hand and pray. What was supposedly a done deal for Michael Defensor will now be handed over to Migz. He will be proclaimed sooner than later.

This is perverse but if there’s anybody out there who can claim the right to have the votes rigged in his favor, it’s Michael. The guy has been performing some serious a---licking these past two years or so, his patron would have readily obliged had he decided to ask for a Garci, or whoever it is in power who would deliver him the one million, or single vote difference over his nearest rival. But vote-rigging as an option was a no-no for this guy. It was as if a lightning bolt of enlightenment struck him, and dazed by the power of the unseen which now engulfed him, he conceded. “For my kids and my family,” he said. It makes one wonder where this family-man had been hiding his values all this time. I mean, every time he appeared on TV then, you could almost predict the words that will pour out from his mouth. “Tigilan na natin ang pamumulitika. Magkaisa na tayo. Papaangat naman ang ekonomiya, ano pa ba ang gusto natin?” Namaaaaan…. But he did concede. In spite of the clear awareness that the ‘forces’ can easily let him inside ‘the magic 12’ circle, he cut, and cut ‘cleanly.’

Koko should have stopped fighting the moment the Maguindanao votes were declared to have been ‘lost.’ The impact of such an action would have been greater than that of Michael’s concession. It was clear that he was being eased out from his number 12 position anyway. It is useless to slug it out against a cabal of thugs who have a president of a country sitting as proof of how smoothly they operate. Well, not that smooth, but she’s still there, isn’t she? It would have been better to desist fighting and say, “I can’t stand the cheating”, than to cry, “We wuz robbed”, after being thrown into the sidelines… He will be thrown into the sidelines.

These thoughts should have been forgotten, what with the length of time that has elapsed since the votes were cast. But look at the comelec, they’re still adding it up. Only in da Pilipins!