A wake-up call for Chiz Escudero

I am never one to rejoice at another man’s predicament—given my strong belief in karma or whatever you wish upon another comes back to you—but Sen. Chiz Escudero deserves the plunge in his ratings in the latest survey.

From No. 2, the young reelectionist senator has gone down to fourth place in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) election surveys.

It’s a wake-up call for the senator which, to his credit, he acknowledges.

But Escudero said the wake-call tells him to put more work in his reelection bid, and not in his perceived character flaws.

He doesn’t believe that his spat with the parents of actress Heart Evangelista, his girlfriend, caused the drop in his ratings.

Reynaldo and Cecile Ongpauco complain that the senator doesn’t give them due respect as Heart’s parents and his prospective parents-in-law.

They gripe that the senator is always drunk whenever he talks to them, a no-no for a conservative family with Chinese roots.

If Escudero would just acknowledge his fault—he denies he treats the Ongpaucos shabbily, which is worse—perhaps things might turn out for the better for him and his beloved Heart.

For what would the Ongpaucos get from inventing a story about Chiz’s alleged drunkenness and disrespectful attitude towards them?

The Ongpaucos’ disapproval of Chiz comes not from his being a “poor boy” but from his alleged uncouth manner and drinking.

Rey and Baby told me that they felt proud when they heard that their daughter was dating a senator who’s intelligent and popular with the masses.

So there was no reason for them to disapprove of Chiz as their future son-in-law, if only the senator were respectful to them.

* * *

Why doesn’t Chiz follow the advice of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, his matchmaker in the relationship, to also court his sweetheart’s parents?

Why doesn’t he also follow the counsel of his fellow Team PNoy senatorial candidate, former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, to treat the Ongpaucos like his own parents?

Villar said that when a man marries his girlfriend, he also marries into her family.

* * *

When a blogger asked Chiz Escudero if he drinks a lot, he said no.

He could be lying through his teeth.

His friends have told this columnist that when Chiz drinks alcohol, he has one too many, he metamorphoses into a different personality,

“He becomes a loudmouth, he curses like a stevedore and he doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing,” said a government official whose identity I’m withholding.

The description of the senator is far different from what he projects to the public, which is that of a soft-spoken, gentle and wholesome personality.

I glossed over what I was told about the senator because I once had a drinking problem myself, and I knew I could overcome it.

Besides, the personal flaw of a public official, as long as it doesn’t affect his work, is none of my business as a columnist.

So, my unsolicited advice to Chiz as a fellow drinker is to quit the bottle for now until he won’t find a need for it.

If he can’t, he may need help.

* * *

If Escudero goes further down in the ratings game because of his spat with who could be his future parents-in-law, expect the ratings of very qualified senatorial candidates to go up.

Expect former Senators Dick Gordon and Ramon Magsaysay Jr. to get included in the “Magic 12” in the next surveys.