Unknown Adonis challenges the gods of Pampanga

LUBAO, Pampanga - Adonis Simpao may have the name of a deity, but in Pampanga, the Arroyos are the gods. While President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's critics in Manila and elsewhere are doing everything they can to get her out of public office--exposing scandals, trying to impeach her--more than a few Cabalens don't want her to go. Ever. Streamers with messages of support abound in several towns in the province, with one in Sasmuan town saying "Mahal naming PGMA: Till death do us part." In vote-rich Pampanga, says a local official, the Arroyos are like the "royal family," and Mrs. Arroyo's bid for a congressional seat as representative of its second district in the House of Representatives is seen as a sure win. But her rival Adonis Simpao, a local civil society leader who was ushered in at the last minute as the Liberal Party's bet against Mrs. Arroyo, is unruffled. He does not appear the least bit disconcerted that he is up against a political giant who will likely crush him come election time.

There isn't a hint of a nervous stammer in Simpao's voice throughout his exclusive interview with GMANews.TV, not even when he discusses the P459 million--at least a couple of zeros more than he can ever hope to raise for his own campaign--that Mrs. Arroyo reportedly spent on infrastructure projects in the district in 2009 alone. "Kung titignan natin sa mga resources, popularidad, pera, makinarya, wala tayo lahat dun (If we're talking about resources, popularity, money, machinery, I don't have all of that)," Simpao admits. Based on his demeanor, however, he is anything but cowed into submission. He sits upright--leaning forward as he gets more engaged into the conversation--behind a table outside his humble abode, located inside a two-hectare compound near the boundary of Guagua and Sta. Rita towns. Youth leader Simpao is used to taking charge and speaking in public, having been the spokesperson of Kapampangan Kontra Recount, a group opposing the election protest filed against priest-turned-governor Ed Panlilio. He is also one of the leaders of Kasaup, a coalition of municipality-based organizations in the province. In his youth, he served as student council president of the Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trade in Pampanga, where he earned his degree in Architecture. He says he never managed to take the board exams, however, as he had to start working in the construction industry right after graduation. The bespectacled, 41-year-old Simpao may not resemble the mythological Greek god he was named after, who epitomized youth and beauty, but he exudes the kind of idealism and sincerity not very common in many a jaded politico today. "Ang sagana sa atin ay pagpapatuloy ng krusada ng Pampanga, ng krusada nga ng pagbabago na kung saan nagkaroon na ng kamulatan kahit papano ang mga Kapampangan noong 2007 (What I have is the drive to continue the crusade for change in Pampanga, which began in 2007)," says Simpao. During the interview, he wore a simple gray polo with a white face towel slung over his shoulder. Although far from disheartened, Simpao does not sound cocky, either. Instead, he speaks in a steady, unaffected voice that reveals a man who has quietly accepted the difficulty of his quest and yet pushes through with it, if only just because. He gives a little laugh, however, when asked if his family supports his decision to go against the country's most powerful person. "Galit sila, ayaw nila, kasi kahit sino naman siguro ayaw pasukin ang klase ng pulitika natin ngayon (They're angry and they don’t like it. No one really wants to get into the kind of politics we have right now)," he says. Simpao's wife works as a salesperson in Dubai; his three kids are all still in elementary school. While they don't approve of his decision to run, he says they are gradually accepting the fact that he is not backing out from the race. Changing Pampanga’s politics It was never in his plans to run for congressman. But when both Mrs. Arroyo's half-sister Cielo Macapagal Salgado, a former vice governor of the province, and professor-activist Randy David, whose younger brother Pablo is a bishop in Pampanga, turned down the requests for them to challenge Mrs. Arroyo, Simpao decided at the last minute to file his own certificate of candidacy. "Ang inaasahan lang natin dito, yung mga taong nagnanais ng pagbabago (I am just hoping that the people who want change will root for me)," says Simpao. If local officials of the second district are to be asked, however, it seems like the change they want are improvements in their infrastructure and facilities--something that Mrs. Arroyo is very capable of providing her potential constituents. Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, who revealed that Mrs. Arroyo spent P459 million in infrastructure projects in the district in 2009 alone, has sought the President's disqualification over her "improper" and "shameless" spending that would surely give her a winning edge when voters decide who to send to Congress in May. Hontiveros says the huge spending was unfair to Simpao and two other candidates for the second district--electronics engineer Feliciano Serrano and one Filipinas Rosario Sampang, who are both running independently--as they do not have access to government funds. "Di ko pa siya nakilala, pero ang impresyon ko mula sa malayo ay isa siyang matapang na tao (I haven't met him, but my impression is that he is a brave man)," Risa says of Simpao. "Mas may pagkakataon sana siyang manalo kung di gumastos ng ganyang kalaki si GMA sa kanyang distrito (He would probably have a better chance of winning if Mrs. Arroyo had not spent that much in her district)," adds the lawmaker, a senatorial hopeful who is also running under the LP's banner. ‘Royal family’ Unfortunately for Simpao, some local officials in the second district seem to be dead set on supporting Mrs. Arroyo. Councilor Dondon Paule of Lubao, for example, could only give a blank stare when asked if he has heard of Simpao. The 37-year-old Paule, however, gets impassioned when asked to comment on Hontiveros' criticism of Mrs. Arroyo's spending on the second district. "Parte pa rin naman ng Pilipinas ang second district di ba (The second district is still part of the Philippines, right)?" Paule asks, obviously peeved by the controversy. Now on his third term as councilor, Paule says that since 2001--the same year that Mrs. Arroyo took over the presidency--the town's roads and schools have been improved and the rivers desilted. "Dumating naman ang tulong, e (Her assistance actually reached us)," he says. A quick tour of some parts of the second district shows newly-constructed roads, the cement still relatively white and dust-free. Every so often, one sees a poster proclaiming Mrs. Arroyo’s role in a local project. But even if Mrs. Arroyo had not poured funds into the second district, she would still win the congressional race by a landslide, says Sasmuan town Mayor Leonardo Velasco. "You should be realistic naman na ang Pangulo, this is her home court, her own turf," he says, adding that the Arroyos are considered the "royal family" of Pampanga. Mrs. Arroyo's eldest son Mikey is the incumbent congressman of the district. "She doesn't have to do anything to win," says Velasco, a first-termer who ran under Mrs. Arroyo's Lakas-Kampi-CMD in 2007. Velasco is a member of the Pampanga Mayors' League, which issued a resolution in November urging Mrs. Arroyo to represent them in Congress. Velasco says Mrs. Arroyo's rivals for the congressional post are practically "nuisance candidates." He adds, "When you know exactly that you don't have the capability to win an election, you shouldn't run at all." Does she live here? Simpao knows he hardly has the solid backing of the district. At most, 30 percent of the voting population in the area would support him, he says. But Simpao, the second of 11 children who worked his way through college, is not backing down. Although he cannot get roads constructed and put up huge posters with his face and name on them for all passers-by to see, he believes he can wage "non-traditional" ways of campaigning, such as conducting discussion groups. "Napakahalaga na titignan natin kung ang tumatakbo ngayon ay taga-rito talaga (It's very important to see whether those running really live here)," says Simpao. "Nanirahan ba dito, nakakasalamuha ba yung mga tao? Dapat araw-araw nakikita mo lahat ng nangyayari sa mamamayan dahil alam mo, nakikita mo ang kahirapang nararanasan nila (Do the candidates live her, do they mingle with the people? One should know what is happening to the constituents, and see the hardships they face every day)," he says. Simpao is hoping to gather more support when the campaign intensifies. Groups such as the Worldwide Filipino Alliance and the Movement for Good Governance are considering support for his candidacy simply because he is going against Mrs. Arroyo, he says. Even anti-Arroyo netizens are mobilizing support for Simpao: a Facebook page named "Anybody but GMA! We support Adonis Simpao for Pampanga congressman" has 704 members as of posting time that include even Nacionalista Party senatorial candidates Liza Maza and Ariel Querubin. Whether support from OFWs, Manila-based groups, or netizens will propel him to the House of Representatives is uncertain. What seems pretty clear, however, is that Simpao is probably going to need a lot of help from celestial forces to get there. - YA/HS, GMANews.TV