AFTER ALL
Behn Fer. Hortaleza

FINALLY,they remembered there’s another guy to be directly affected by all the cha-cha steps, not just the Lady in the Palace. Muntik nang makalimutan.Nice to hear Speaker Joe de Venecia, no less, making assurances in the direction of VP Noli de Castro who, for sometime since this whole debate on Initiative and its twin Cha-Cha started, had seemed to be destined for the sidelines, there to be marked as The Nowhere Man. 

While in Pangasinan and meeting with his usual horde of local mediamen in his Bonuan Binloc residence by the beach, JDV, heavenly light shining on his persona and voice like that of an enlightened gospel minister, intoned that Noli’s position, contrary to current intrigues, will be upgraded under the new set up.

How so?

“I confirm he (de Castro) will have a seat in the interim parliament and at the same time, he’ll have a cabinet ministry to handle,” de Venecia stressed. Not content with dangling that carrot, he added the plum — the honor of presiding at the opening of the interim parliament (if ever) will be Kabayan’s to take.

Other than this, of course, the scenario, as everyone now knows, would have both GMA and Kabayan Noli, finishing their terms by 2010 under the unified French parliamentary model where the President retains power. After that, when the interim parliament gives way to the full unicameral parliamentary government, we suppose President Arroyo and Vice President de Castro will have to decide whether to run for a seat in the parliament or — fade into glory(?).Meanwhile all executive power gets funneled to the new PM.

But just wait a minute there, is Joe de V’s scenario (some say it’s El Tabako FVR’s too) the same as Malacanang’s? We mean who’s the real scriptwriter for Cha-cha here — will he or she please stand up? –and why is Ronnie Puno,yes, the Ronnie Puno saying all those things about the People’s Initiative’ s form and substance now, making Advocacy Commission’s and Sigaw ng Bayan’s  suave Raul Lambino grin like the proverbial Cheshire cat? Are the people missing something here?

Ah, sweet mysteries of life! 

Guys,the personal and professional interconnections will tell you the real story. Feel free to look for these to unlock the Cha-cha beat.