Butch Bagabuyo “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” – Thomas Fuller YEAR 2015 brought us a tragedy that is now serving as a lighthouse ship entering and exiting to and from a port of selective justice masquerading as matuwid na daan. Luckily, perhaps, our more-than-just-a-super rockstar Pope Francis, sort of, came to our rescue and as I wrote the other day, he declared the most compelling  demand to world leaders if only to save Mother Earth: 2016 is our Year of Mercy. And to assure all human beings that leadership is not about power and wealth but about servanthood in sharing the bounty from the Almighty, Papa Francis issued a striking yet most compassionate slogan: Be merciful like the Father. Otherwise Pope Francis reminded world leaders that unless they address man’s cruelty to Mother Earth spawned by debilitating greed, the sea might just wipe us all out one way or another. So much of nature and God, here is my take in relation to the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant ending in a fiasco: Never before has it happened in a Miss Universe Pageant that an honest mistake (?) actually forewarned the world that even in these age of instants with IT (Information Technology) on its summit a holocaust could be triggered by a simple ouch. The world watched with awe when comedian Steve Harvey acted presidential by owning the mistake and accepting full responsibility. To make matters worse, an American billionaire presidential wannabe (Donald Trump) trivialized the tragedy by suggesting that both Colombia and the Philippines be declared co-winners. Fortunately, no one took Mr. Trump seriously. Consequently, the Philippines retained the 2015 Miss Universe crown. But what about the tragedy? Could anyone imagine what would happen to our city/country if the Board of Election Inspectors/Canvassers would proclaim as winner a near tail-ender based on the masa perception as opposed to the so-called scientific survey kuno by the simple expediency of claiming a computer glitch? And, what about if the PCOS/OMR come out with a digital dagdag-bawas? Bear in mind that President Aquino in Jan. 25 washed his hands despite damning evidence to the contrary and practically declared on wide TV screen “ouch” right after the 44 brave SAF commandos were mercilessly massacred by the group of the heinous conjoined twins pretending to be rebels with a cause. Right now, the Comelec is evidently being used to  divert the lingering issues about the PCOS (President Cory’s Only Son) by the disqualification issues against the frontrunners, thereby covering up the untested OMR (Operation Mar Roxas). Hereunder are the unblemished facts based on the 2010 national elections: In that presidential derby, former Senator Manny Villar consistently topped the surveys kuno with Erap as the sentimental favorite of the masa. But PNoy (who never topped the surveys nor was he the favorite of the masa) was declared winner by a landslide based on the PCOS count with removed and/or disabled major safety measures such as the ultra violet rays, the water-marked ballots and digital signatures of the Board of Election Inspectors. The wonder of wonders is that no serious investigation was ever conducted nor a whimper of protest aired to this day. Consequently, there is good reason to believe that the Comelec magicians in collaboration with the highly controversial Smartmatic could make the untested OMR (Operation Mar Roxas) declare a near tail-ender winner. God forbid!
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“Public opinion, though often formed upon a wrong basis, yet generally has a strong underlying sense of justice.” – Lincoln The results of the year-end surveys kuno clearly vindicated my vigorous stand against the so-called social weather pulse takers in our country today. Based on generally accepted scientific analysis, the only justification for the so-called bouncing back of VP Binay is the urgency to receive the necessary funding for the 13-month pay plus bonuses of the men, women and LGBTs working for those entities. That the year-end surveys kuno is none other than trending. And the alleged results were nothing more than a survival if not, lucrative insurance business. Others, mostly business executives, use the cliché “win-win solution” to a well-paying-earning-seasonal or election insurance business. Without a doubt the alleged result clearly show that all the presidential wannabes could still squeeze some grease from their expected financiers come the national election period pursuant to law. Believe you me, the poor, the deprived and the oppressed are disillusioned and cynical over the trapos and the filthy rich. They have had enough of the empty promises and the unabated inequality between the very few rich and the teeming millions of hungry and overly abused Mindanaoans as well as the rest of those who have less in life all over the archipelago. Like it or not, both Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and outstanding legislator cum family man, Congressman Rufus Rodriguez, have both emerged the leading contenders in the presidential and mayoral offices, respectively.  And they have captivated passionate supporters who want to end criminality spawned by debilitating greed pronto. Tsada, di ba?