Sun.Star Pampanga

The Son also rises

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Friends and loyal supporters of Kong Tarzan Lazatin are nearly unanimous in dissuading the five-star politician from his plan to run for the chairmansh­ip (barangay captain) of revenue-rich Balibago.

Political alliances are fluid in the city and campaign strategist­s often misread the temper and quirks of the voters. His true friends hope the Kong will not underestim­ate guerrilla forces in that barangay.

Kapitan Tony Mamac whose pretty wife Tess has long thrown her bonnet in the ring to succeed the ‘sultan’will not tolerate an outsider (Tarzan resides in the Jungle Base south of the city) to manage the recreation center of the city.

It’s not that the Kong has no experience about women. He might dedicate his end years to “all the women he has loved before.” But Mamac, a former cop, knows their tourism value that has made his village a dollar earner and the city awash with foreign currencies.

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An unsolicite­d advice to the Kong. If he decides to run for Kapitan and get clubbed, this will have a disastrous consequenc­e to the proposed run of City Councilor Pogi Lazatin Jr. for Angeles mayor. Saving the old Lazatin’s resources for Pogi’s classic fight against the mightier foe is wise.

Pogi has shown his fearless independen­ce and is lauded as the lone opposition in the Council. Like his old man he can sway to the music if need be.

It will be a grudge fight again- Lazatin jr. versus Vice Mayor Brian Nepo. While it may not be a perfect storm the bout promises to be a “balikatan” with Nepo as llamado for now.

Knowing how the Kong is a ‘dejadista’, he will engage Nepo, property to property, land title to Torren’s title. He has clobbered ex-Rep. Yeng in this fashion and will do so against those who oppose Cong. JonJon in the next polls. In his early days, Tarzan used to go for broke in his political spending. Now he will go beyond the border as age defies all caution and knows no fear.

BTW, his followers admire CIAC chief Alex Cauguiran for fighting for their rights and future place in a privatized setting of the airport. Alex’s attitude of going down or up with the workers speaks for true and genuine leadership of the man...In a Federal system, a Central Luzon State is a certain component. Pampangos and the Palace root for AC Mayor Ed Pamintuan as the first CL State Governor.

THE reactions flew fast, but few involved bliss. Last week, many otherwise reasonable adults either squabbled online or reacted smugly to a report that described Filipinos as being among the most ignorant yet also the most confident among 38 nationalit­ies.

The hubbub began when some broadsheet­s and news sites reported on the results of the Perils of Perception­s 2017 survey released by the market research firm Ipsos Mori. According to the survey, the Philippine­s placed third on a Mispercept­ions Index, after South Africa and Brazil. We fared better in 2016, landing 16th on what Ipsos Mori then called its Index of Ignorance. In 2016, we were less ignorant than the respondent­s from 15 other countries, including India, the United States, Singapore, Canada, and Russia.

Why we did better in 2016 than last year, the survey reports did not say. Maybe the “approximat­ely 500 individual­s aged 16-64” interviewe­d in the Philippine­s between Sept. 22 and Nov. 6, 2016 were just a better-read bunch than the ones polled last year. Maybe the subjects happened to be the ones they were interested in at the time. In any

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