Babe's Eye View article

Tomorrow is another important day for this country because it will give us choices for the kind of leadership we will have for the future. The outcome will give us a glimpse of who could potentially be the leader of this country in 2010.

No doubt Loren Legarda will be number one in the senatorial lineup. While she was convinced to run for vice president, for a while she even thought of running for president in 2004. A lot of people think Loren has a very good chance to make it in 2010 for the presidency. However, it all depends on how she will carry herself in the next three years.

Perception is 90 percent of the game and how people will perceive her in the next three years will determine her chances. Right now, she has a very strong following from the lower class, being a broadcast journalist for more than two decades and topping the senatorial race in 1998 with 15 million votes.

She will probably get the support of most women in this country, but she is not particularly liked by the AB class because of her switch to the opposition considering that she was a prosecutor during the impeachment trial of Joseph Estrada. Nevertheless, this did not dent her popularity with the lower classes where it counts anyway.

The biggest downside, however, is: Are we ready for another lady president? Needless to say, our two female presidents have had tumultuous years in office. Both are products of EDSA—EDSA I for Cory Aquino and EDSA II for GMA, both unstable times for this country. And whether we like it or not, it's possible that a male dominated society like the Philippines may not be too hot on the idea of another female president so soon after GMA.

Senate president Manny Villar is, of course, another frontrunner. He has always had the big ambition of becoming president, and has the money and the network to bring this objective into motion. He has cleverly capitalized on his poor boy from Tondo, rags-to-riches story. Working class voters certainly find "Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga" a source of inspiration. Manny was a seafood vendor in Divisoria market and worked his way to college before becoming a successful real estate developer. Manny believes that a businessman like him is just what this country needs for the future.

Ping Lacson, who ran for president in 2004 and finished third, now believes he has a better than even chance to become president in 2010. Ping to many had the best program of government when he ran in 2004 with strong emphasis on peace and order. He is one of the few who voiced his stand on the issue of population management, even if it meant the enmity of the Catholic Church.

He encouraged people to use artificial birth control methods, knowing that a sound economic platform would not prosper without a practical population management program. This police-turned-politician has a great opportunity to become president of this country. Of course, the biggest hitch is that the present dispensation despises him and fears him the most. They will probably go hammer and tongs to make sure he does not become president.

Of course, there's Mar Roxas (who is not running this year) who believes the presidency is a matter of destiny. He comes from a well-known political clan and needless to say, an extremely wealthy family. When his brother Gerardo "Dinggoy" Roxas died of cancer in 1993, Mar was put to the forefront, successfully running as congressman in Capiz. Mar had a degree from the Wharton School of Economics and was a successful investment banker in New York enjoying life as a bachelor (even up to today). But then he had to fill in the shoes of both his brother and his father Gerry—both of whom died of cancer. Mar will eventually have to get married because it's not certain whether a bachelor president would be acceptable.

But as I have said before and as I have told Mar so many times, being born into a political family is not enough. He must live it, breathe it, dream it and think about it all the time if he wants to be president one day. It is not just a matter of destiny. His "Mr. Palengke" tag has brought him closer to this dream, and many believe he has what it takes to one day become president just like his grandfather.

Last, but certainly not least, is vice president Noli de Castro who is probably GMA's anointed successor—unless, of course, she changes her mind. But since he stuck it out with her during the most critical times of her administration, Noli will most likely be the administration bet for the presidential race in 2010. The only drawback is that he is perceived to be a Lopez boy, and right now no one is sure how the relationship between GMA and the Lopezes stands.

So there you have it. The outcome of the elections tomorrow will give us an indication of the future leadership of this country and where we will be going. At the end of the day, it is critical for the elections to be perceived as fairly clean to strengthen the democratic system in this country that has been weakened by EDSA II and the Garci controversy. And as award-winning composer Louie Ocampo's song lyrics clearly say, "Sana naman ang taong bayan ang panalo"—a long-cherished hope of Filipinos who dream of a better future for their country.