Aside from the obvious entry of Ali Atienza (current Mayor Lito Atienza's son) into the race for Manila Mayor in 2007, it seems that it's only former presidential candidate, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson who has officially announced his intention run against him. During a press conference this morning at the Manila Hotel (which was looking pretty shabby in the background by the way), he presented his platform/acronym (HOPE). H apparently stands for HEALTH (which I hope includes birth control and reproductive health services), O means ORDER (which I hope includes enforcing anti-vagrancy, anti-littering, and anti-noise pollution laws), P means... um... I forgot.. was it peace? productivity? Ooh. Sorry, I guess I wasn't listening very well (He is kinda boring to watch - no offense to him). And the E stands for Education (and I hope that means educating people about arts, culture, and the necessity for architectural heritage preservation). And aside from the irritating use of acronyms (which is just juvenile), the other thing that bugged me out about the press conference was his invocation of God. Apparently, running for mayor was not his decision but the decision of someone um..higher up. No comment. I will have no comment for a while either. I'm not sure which candidate to support just yet. I have to research the other candidates' platforms first. Hurry up, Borgy. I'm waiting.Favorite moment of the press conference: when asked about Atong Ang and his testimony possibly linking Ping to the Kuratong Baleleng rubout cases, the senator replied that he is not afraid, "Let him lie and lie and lie until his nose reaches his toes." Sigh. Such elegant phrasing.
