CITY OF SAN FERNANDO ? His declared readiness to fight President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s possible run for representative of Pampanga?s second district has elicited an outpouring of support for University of the Philippines professor and Inquirer columnist Randy David.

In Malacañang, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello said that if the electoral fight materializes, it would indeed be between David and Goliath, but with Ms Arroyo clobbering her opponent.

?In case she is challenged, I think, in boxing lingo, that she will have an edge. It?s like [a fight between] Pacquiao and Cotto,? he said, referring to the coming fight of Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and Mexican boxer Miguel Cotto.

Bello replied in the affirmative when asked whether Ms Arroyo would be ?unbeatable? if she does seek a seat in Congress.

Asked if the projected fight would be between David and Goliath, he said: ?It will be something like that.

?But it does not mean we are admitting that it will be David winning over Goliath this time.?

?Gloriath?

Playing on Ms Arroyo?s first name, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said that if and when, the fight between his fellow Kapampangan would be a face-off between ?David and Gloriath.?

?It will [also] be a fight between the politics of genuine change and the politics of ?more of the same,?? he said in a statement.

Swamped

Reached by phone yesterday, David, 63, said he had been swamped by messages of support from friends and strangers. ?The most common reaction I get is I should go for it,? he said.

?Some said they will transfer their voters? registration to Pampanga to be able to vote for me,? he added in reference to text messages sent to public affairs programs on radio stations dzMM and dzBB.

This early, the Liberal Party (LP) said it wanted David to be its man in the second district of Pampanga in 2010.

?We will support him,? Sen. and LP president Mar Roxas said in a statement issued in Manila. ?We will be behind him 100 percent. We are confident he will be a good representative of his district.?

Juan Miguel ?Mikey? Arroyo, the incumbent representative and the President?s eldest child, said there would be ?no problem? if David seeks his seat just to foil his mother?s purported plan.

?Walang problema yan. He can go ahead and run. This is a good opportunity for a reality check for [him],? said Mikey Arroyo, who maintained that he was actually preparing to seek a third term in the House.

He acknowledged David as ?a brilliant man? whose family was ?well entrenched? in Pampanga?s second district, but added that the sociology professor could be in for ?a rude awakening? in politics.

Money, jingles, whispers

Patrick Canlas, a telecommunications employee, said he would donate money, make audiovisual presentations, and design campaign T-shirts and a webpage for David.

?That?s the least I can do for the prof since I can?t vote for him,? said Canlas, 35, a voter registered in San Fernando.

Musician-choreographer Andy Alviz, a native of Sta. Rita town next to David?s hometown of Guagua, pledged to compose election campaign jingles for him.

?If he runs, all the people who supported Among Ed (Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio) will be on his side because they are the people who advocate good governance,? Alviz said.

Two jeepney drivers in Lubao town said that as in May 2007 when Panlilio beat two Arroyo allies for the governorship, they would be part of the sitsit (whisper) brigades to help David win.

?We cannot openly campaign for him because this is GMA?s (the President?s) bailiwick and we might be harassed. So we?ll do it quietly,? one driver said.

In Betis, a cluster of villages in Guagua?s old area, David?s possible run has stirred ?excitement and hope,? according to Banjo Serrano, the president of the Parish Pastoral Council of the St. James the Apostle Parish.

?I welcome the idea. We really need a reform politician in the second district,? Serrano said.

Patronage politics

Asked why, despite his family?s resistance to the idea, he was prepared to plunge into politics, David said: ?Karina (Constantino-David, his wife, a former chair of the Civil Service Commission) understands also that you cannot just be talking. I will have to sacrifice my solitude and privacy, make a small contribution.?

David?s younger brother, Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, is totally supportive of his intention to challenge Ms Arroyo in her purported plan to seek a seat in the House, corner the speakership and later become prime minister when the Constitution is amended to include a shift in the system of government from presidential to parliamentary.

?I understand his decision ? I saw this coming. I know how he feels about the patronage politics of GMA. That?s what my brother ... does not want to go unchallenged. I encourage my brother to do his part,? Bishop David said, adding:

?Jueteng,? quarry corruption

?I cannot make a judgment on GMA?s person. But I can make a judgment on her brand of politics, which is patronage politics, a politics of payoff, her close alliance with the shady underworld of ?jueteng? and quarry corruption. We know her allies. She has done a lot to keep jueteng operations [alive]. These are against the very grain of the social teachings of the Church about politics.?

Bishop David said that because of his work, his support for his brother would be limited. ?But I pray GMA will back off, give up her plan to run as representative. I don?t think she?s running to represent the district. As [Archbishop Paciano Aniceto] said, she should discern. She?s a Catholic,? he said.

David has the same prayer: ?I hope that GMA will think twice and reconsider her political plan. But if it pushes through, I will be ready.?

Governor Panlilio said he would back David.

?I encourage Koyang Randy to join a group of Kapampangan who have been analyzing together the Pampanga situation. They?ve been doing a visioning, outlining the qualities of candidates and gearing for the 2010 local campaign,? Panlilio said.

David was part of the vigils in Betis, Panlilio?s former parish where concerned Kapampangan converged during the search in 2007 for a ?third force? against then reelectionist Gov. Mark Lapid and Board Member Lilia Pineda.

He was among the professionals considered by the Catholic laity as possible gubernatorial candidates. Like the rest, he begged off, prompting the lay leaders to field Panlilio.

?I will help oppose GMA,? Panlilio said. ?It will have to be collective work. Nobody should feel messianic. The community should reflect on the realities. There is a growing number of people who, from feeling hopeless, are now facing the situation for the interest of the country.?

The governor has this bit of advice for David: ?It?s a waste of time waiting for GMA?s announcement [that she will run for Congress]. She does not comply with her words. She cannot be relied upon [to fulfill] her political promises. She said she wouldn?t run in 2004 [but] she did.?

?Very interesting? race

Pampanga Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao said David?s possible run would be ?good for the democratic process? because the people would have more choices.

But Guaio pointed out that Ms Arroyo had yet to announce her political plans. ?[Her running] would be an option, I think. Our people in the second district are happy every time she comes because she brings many projects and our people are benefiting from them. They always look forward to her visits,? he said.

Of Ms Arroyo?s 15 visits to Pampanga since Feb. 24, 13 were in the second district?s towns of Guagua, Sasmuan, Lubao, Sta. Rita, Porac and Floridablanca.

It was the increasing regularity of the visits and the scale of the service caravans that fueled suspicion that she would run for Congress.

Should David join the race, he would make the electoral contest ?very interesting,? Guiao said. He said the new ruling party Lakas-Kampi-CMD would field one ticket.

Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda, the president of the Pampanga Mayors? League, professed respect for David who, he said, belonged to ?a good family.?

?Hatred? of GMA

?But if the President is running for Congress, I will campaign for her because she has more experience and she has been helping Pampanga and the second district with so many projects,? Pineda said.

Mikey Arroyo claimed to be ?close? to some of David?s siblings.

He said the 2010 elections could serve as ?a good gauge? of whether David?s ?grievances against the President? were shared by Pampanga voters.

He refused to say whether David was justified in seeking a congressional seat. But he said it was largely based on ?hatred? of his mother.

Asked to comment, Speaker Prospero Nograles said in a text message: ?I respect Randy David?s decision to run for congressman in Pampanga. Except I got surprised that it?s only because he disliked PGMA and not the usual reason for running, which is public service. Anyway, the very big question is if at all he wins a seat, he will have first-hand experience in ? Congress and may suddenly find that some of his public criticisms might not be correct or justified at all. At any rate, good luck to Randy.?

Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino said it was David?s right to run ?if he thinks that he is serving the people by trying to beat GMA.?

?It [is] the people who will decide and put these ?higher than mighty? people in their place,? Antonino said.

Bello repeatedly disclaimed knowledge of the President?s plans for 2010, but said she would have a big edge over her rivals.

?We are in a very free and democratic country, and anybody who thinks he is qualified to run can run,? Bello told reporters in an initial reply to David?s declaration on Thursday that he was prepared to challenge Ms Arroyo if she makes the move.

He said David could be a worthy opponent and was ?welcome to join the political fray.?

?However, if your intention of running is based on a premise that someone else is running for that position, maybe that?s not well-motivated,? he said.

Bello said Ms Arroyo was ?extremely popular? in her home province, having put up many good projects for her fellow Kapampangan.

?A good fight?

Asked why people like David wanted to challenge the President, Bello said it was ?a normal human craving.?

?You always want to challenge a strong opponent ... You won?t be challenged if you?re going against a lightweight because your victory will be nothing,? he said.

Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Francis Escudero and Benigno Aquino III said the projected duel would be ?a good fight.?

Escudero said he was for David, while Pimentel said that ?in reality,? David might find it difficult to win over Ms Arroyo.