Will ‘constructive opposition’ tag work?

United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is still not declaring itself as the unqualified opposition.

It prefaces the word with “constructive,” a sort of backtracking from its hostile stance first week into the national campaign when it ridiculed PNoy’s “matuwid na daan (straight road).”

How can it be straight, one UNA leader quipped, when the road has many potholes? What they’re offering instead, he said, is “magandang daan (beautiful road).”

However they call their platform of government, a veteran political watcher says, it would help the voters if they could see the difference between the two parties: LP or Team PNoy and UNA.

The reluctance to be combative with Team PNoy is a response to the perception the President continues to enjoy goodwill and support of the greater number of Filipinos.

UNA is feeling the waters. It might be more critical of the administration as the elections draw near and its strategy of “near-peaceful coexistence” doesn’t work, the Bzzzzz source says.

What’s that again?

Team PNoy campaigners tried to use the acronym “TEAM LP CHAMP” as memory aid for voters inclined to vote straight.

Just like in college when a student faces the burden of memorizing a lot of words in an enumeration question. He uses key words or phrases to help himself remember.

Problems there, as Team PNoy organizers realized:

When the ones asked about the acronym don’t know what the letters in “TEAM LP CHAMP” represent.

The crowd egged on by the rally cheerleader gave the wrong answer, embarrassingly when the name of an UNA senatorial wannabe was given instead.

When the acronym is forgotten or confused with the acronym used by the rival party.

*** DOES ‘TEAM LP CHAMP’ REMIND YOU OF PNOY BETS?

Erap, Lim, 20 10 hostage crisis

Erap Estrada, running for Manila mayor, isn’t campaigning in the capital city. Unlike most other local bets who’re not restricted by any limit on campaigning, Erap seems inclined to join other UNA officials in pushing their senatorial candidates, usually in out-of-Manila sorties.

But he manages to raise Manila issues against Mayor Alfredo Lim, his rival in the May elections.

Yesterday, he accused Lim of handling the bungled Aug. 23, 2010 hostage crisis at the Luneta and he (Erap) has evidence to prove it. It was not Jesse Robredo or Rico E. Puno who was responsible but Lim, Erap charged.

The incident may be resurrected by the political rivalry in Manila. Erap though could’ve given his evidence in the investigations conducted by the Philippines and Hong Kong.

And the incompetence in the handling, whoever official was responsible, would be in the news again.

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Perdido Lex scam in 2004

The P105 million scam pulled by an NGO in 2011, swindling the government of pork barrel allotted to Juan Ponce Enrile and Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr, and then congressman Rene Velarde, inevitably reminds Cebuanos of Cebu’s own version.

The Perdido Lex fraud at the Capitol in 2004 exacted only P5 million but mystery still shrouds its origin: who cooked it up and why only a senator’s son took the fall.