Erap 2?

A few days ago, I chanced on Erap being interviewed on ANC's "Strictly Politics." My attention was caught by how he was deftly answering Pia's pointblank questions and in straight English. He had some grammatical lapses, but these were negligible.

If we recall, Erap's 1998 campaign was packaged to capitalize on his masa appeal. Hence, his supposedly broken English was made the butt of jokes to shed off the "elitista" image that turns off voters if you're an "inglisera." But his performance on TV that night showed a more insightful person, even wiser, than when he was president.

Could his years of incarceration have somehow changed Erap for the better?

In all of human history, great leaders have often undergone the purgation of being deprived of liberty or freedom of action. A test of will. For example, there's Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned for over 30 years. We also have our own Ninoy Aguino whom Marcos jailed for over 7 years during Martial Law.

If I am not mistaken, Ninoy was then an ambitious traditional politician like any other before he was hauled off to jail. But, his years of incarceration led him to a deeper conversion and an inner spiritual journey that eventually made him the hero that he became for all of us.

Indeed, it's not the fact of being physically not free that changes a person in confinement, but the solitude of utter helplessness that allows the soul to be empty and alone with God.

An uncle of mine often tells us, and this has also been the belief of Ninoy, that while one can aspire for the various positions of public service, the presidency is always reserved for an act of God. For it is a sublime trust, a sacred mission for the welfare and care of the souls of an entire people that for sure our Lord cannot afford to be filled without his Divine Providence. On this note, nobody ever thought that Cory would become our president.

GMA, Marcos, Erap-1, and presidential blunders are of course another story, like the bad popes in Church history. After all, God also draws straight with crooked lines-speaking of which, a humbled Erap may well be our next president.

As a practical matter, the presidentiables in the so-called opposition pale in contrast with Erap who still commands wide support from our people. Worse, they play coy about their plans and only pursue all sorts of cheap gimmickry, like Mar's pedicab TV ads, rather than offer concrete programs.

If there was one thing that showed leadership in Erap during the interview, it was his firm stand for decisive action as regards rebellion-terrorism in Mindanao as seen in the recent bombings there, that is, "to negotiate from a position of strength" or "wage war to make peace."

To be president starts with being definite on what you want to do for your country-political will to lead.

Erap 2?