I agree with you. He’ll really need to focus on Pampanga first but not just to deliver results (and bolster his track record), but to build a strong enough coalition to take him to the national level. He will still need to play by the established political game, but where will his allies come from? It would be so ironic for him to lose Pampanga in the national election. Whether the ordinary kabalens latch on to him is something that remains to be seen.

I will have to meet you halfway on that priesthood point though. I don’t get the impression that he’s leaning on the Church at all, or that he’s banking on the fact that majority of the country is Catholic. I don’t find him dogmatic, and by drilling us with the quarry issue, he knows that results matter. In his latest declaration of interest to run, he does so to measure his viability and to gauge whether he has the machinery to run. Not once did he say that it’s “God’s will”. He is a pragmatic politician.

I empathize with him. He wants to help in the search for a genuine reform candidate, but he finds no one else rising up to the challenge. The presidency is not just about technical knowledge or political heft (just take a look at the current occupant), but about courage and integrity which he seems to have in abundance. I understand that the question is whether he’s ready for the presidency. In contrast I ask, are we ready for him?

Thanks for this. Warmed me up for my piece.