The irony can never be lost. Randy is quite tall and Gloria is so small. However, Gloria being the seasoned, machiavellian pollie she is, I think the metaphor is apt. Yesterday in one of the discussions at the faculty lounge in my department we tried to make sense if Randy David is a fool or not for declaring his intentions to run for the 2nd district seat in his Pampanga. Some thought he should just be contented cruising Pampanga’s highways on weekends in between birdwatching sessions in Candaba.

Conventional wisdom told us that Father Ed Panlilio couldn’t wrest the governorship from the usual trapos. But we were proven wrong. Despite the largesse that Gloria has dished out to her provincemates, she can’t be sure that her subjects will take the cash, do their stuf f  she expects they would or vote otherwise. We call this the Blessed Cardinal Sin prescription. But whether or not that is successful, depends on how “religious” cabalens are.

Pampanga is considered still a jewel in the crown of Philippine Catholicism. This is evidenced in the colonial churches that dot each town which are well preserved. The Aglipayans barely made headway in this province and while the Iglesia ni Cristo has grand capillas in the major towns, Catholicism is still the faith of the Kapampangans.  The influence of the Church is still relevant and strong. Randy David’s family has produced not a quite few lay Catholic workers, priests and nuns. The organization and subversive potential of the Roman Church can never be matched by Gloria or any other politician in heaven or hell. In this sense Randy David has a chance.

Prez Gloria has refrained from commenting on her plans but her Mikey says “David is in for a rude awakening”. Obviously this blast of hot air is ill considered. Mikey ain’t as astute a politician as her PhD mom. If David will sling a rock, we expect this to miss Gloria but hit Mikey between the orbits of his eyes! For a much needed dose of schadenfreude, we that hope his most important organ (not the one most people think but the brain!) can be deflated.

Who knows Randy can be King David. But a congressional election is local. But as other commentators have said, the local is actually national. So the race for that seat should be interesting.

And another thing, while Randy may take a lefty stance on some issues, he won’t preach to the converted in the party list route. That itself is significant!

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