Kopi talk - Poverty and elections

In a society where daily the poor feel the depths of despair, the indignities that life afflicts on them and the helplessness from a social order that favors the wealthy, election is payback time. Through the ballot, they can show their hatred for those who continue to savour the fruits of the land which had long been promised to be returned to them, the true tillers of the soil. By their vote, they can express strong disapproval of those who have the benefit of great fortunes and enviable family status do not even attempt to make a name but would rather coast through life. Even as they aspire for the highest position of government, their dependency syndrome is evident as advisers and kin control the campaign and lead the way. A life of submission to strong personalities, whether relatives or colleagues cannot be transformed by scripted media ads and rehearsed speeches to a picture of a decisive leader; the cracks will show.

The poor perceive all this and as the surveys show, gravitate to two leading candidates for president - Joseph ''Erap'' Estrada and Manuel ''Manny'' Villar. Both have deep roots in the life experiences of the Filipino masses.

Erap, while coming from a well-to-do family, grew up in the company of the poor, eating and drinking; laughing and crying with them. The foundation of his fame and fortune rests on their patronage and prayers. The Erap presidency whatever failings there may have been was still a presidency that was pro-poor. Poverty levels went down, government programs favoured the poor and his sincerity earned the trust of the masses even as his administration had to make decisions that were unpopular on the short term. A man of no pretensions he was able to put together what economist Bernie Villegas considered the best cabinet the country ever had. Knowing where he was weak, he reached out to the best and the brightest. But he had his own mind and the confidence that comes from doing honest work using his own talents. When he was senator, I had a one-on-one session with him arranged by his brother-in-law, Dr. Raul de Guzman, my former boss in the University of the Philippines. I found that Erap asked the right questions and subjected my ideas on entrepreneurship and small business development to an intense scrutiny based on his personal experiences as a businessman (movie producer) and inputs from other academics.

Manny, no matter what critics say, has experienced being poor and had to help his mother augment the family income. In the University of the Philippines, he took public transport going to school and was juggling school work and pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities. His businesses followed the roller coaster of Philippine economy, down (when the Asian financial crisis affected his businesses as it did many other Philippine enterprises) and then up (on the strength of his sacrifices and well thought out business strategies). It is that experience which gave him the drive to venture into business and reach the critical mass of wealth that allows exponential growth. It is having been poor that makes him aspire to a presidency that will create jobs and give the poor a level playing field in life. His will be a presidency that will uproot the moorings of the privileged class that accuse others of corruption while they themselves used family and school ties to benefit their business conglomerates. His will be a presidency whose only ''utang na loob'' is to the masses unlike those who have to repay debts to their campaign contributors or media supporters.

I am sure the poor will go either to Erap or Manny. I am positive that the elite, a number of whom Enzo Zobel used to call ''the idle rich'' as opposed to the working rich; civil society leaders, who gained prominence if not fortunes after EDSA I and II; businessmen who benefitted by having their enterprises ''returned to them'' after EDSA I even when these businesses had vastly grown and had significantly less liabilities than before martial law; and traditional politicians today who started as OICs in the post EDSA scene will not. It is this same group that ousted Erap and installed one from their own class- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The mistake they made will be repeated as they work to elect another from their social class not considering industry, personal leadership and career track record, only the promise of potentials to be realised. Thank goodness, the votes of the poor are vastly greater than theirs.

Business Bits. Congratulations to the lifetime awardees of the Rotary Club of Quezon City on their 50th Charter Anniversary - PP Eddie Endriquez, PDG Tony Sibal and PP Mon Hechanova. They are inspiration to those who aspire to ''serve above self.''