With interest in Philippine presidential polls mounting, expatriates here have expressed mixed feelings towards the prospect of having another screen actor in Malacanang, the presidential palace.
Fernando Poe Jr, the actor-turned-politician, is seen as the main challenger to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
"I will tear my passport apart if Fernando Poe Jr wins the next presidential elections."This was the bold declaration of Richard Dizon, a Filipino restaurant supervisor in Dubai.
"I'm serious. I'll apply for citizenship in Timbuktu, if that country exists," he said. Dizon left the Philippines in 1999 after his car sales business, handed down by his father and grandfather, went under following the economic slump that dogged the Estrada presidency.
Fernando Poe Jr, Estrada's friend, has been wildly popular among the Filipino masses and could unseat President Arroyo in a four-way political contest in May.
Dizon, working away from his family for the last five years, is wary about the kingmakers handling Poe's campaign, lead by old guards like Senator Edgardo Angara and actor-turned-senator Tito Sotto.
Since Poe announced his candidacy, irreverent text messages have been crossing international borders. One SMS early this month reads: "This will be the last time I will greet you Happy Three Kings. Next year, it will be four kings, because Da King will be in Malacanang,"
Poe, whose real name is Ronald Allan Kelly Poe, is also known as "Da King" of Philippine movies. He is the son of actor-producer Fernando Poe Sr. Born on August 20, 1939, he was the second of six children and dropped out of high school when he was 14 to pursue a career in the movies.
But Poe remains the man to beat in the upcoming elections, according to polls.
Rufino Dublar, a leader of Katilingban Ilonggo group in Abu Dhabi, said: "I like Poe as an actor. But the chances are that people around him will have an easy time plundering the country so we'll lose another chance to play catch-up with our Asian neighbours.
"The same people behind Estrada are also now behind Poe," said Dublar.
Tetch Ingente, based in Sharjah, said: "Poe will win hands-down in any elections because the masses are united in their resentments and the elite is divided in their greed.
"But it takes more naive Samaritans like Poe to steer our country out of the muck. If he tried to run for governor first, like the actress Vilma Santos did, he would have had a crash course on how politics works. But going straight from the screen to Malacanang is like shooting for the moon.
"He will have so many advisers - too many cooks spoil the broth. Even now, there's much in-fighting in his team already. I'm hoping against hope that Poe will not follow in Estrada's footsteps."
Rommel Ignacio, leader of the Filipino community in Al Ain, said: "We all want a change for the better. If Poe wins, I just pray he won't become another Estrada. A president's job needs a lot of discipline and habit formed from one's early years. It's probably unfair to judge Poe right away.
"Sincerity is one thing, but running a country quite another. The habits of daily work require such simple demands as punctuality and clarity of vision. The ability to rise every day to face work comes with a lifetime of training," Ignacio added.
Nepthalie Sipalay, a sales engineer with a Japanese company, said: "The people behind Poe are opportunists who have their own hidden agenda. These are the guys who will bleed the country dry under the nose of their know-nothing pawn in Malacanang. I'm ready to join the burn-your-passport movement."
Alfred Halique, an Ilonggo engineer in a desalination facility near Abu Dhabi, said: "I think the Philippine economy will suffer a terrible beating under Poe. Even Gloria Macapagal, a trained economist, couldn't do much to woo investors.
"Running a country is not like running a 'sari-sari' store. Poe should take pitty on Filipinos and bow out of the race. If he becomes president, I'll probably push my plan to migrate to another country."
Gulf News
