With just weeks before the elections, Vice presidentiable Gregorio Honasan believes he has accomplished his mission and done everything to elucidate the platform of UNA to the people.
“I’ve finished what I set out to do, I have delivered our message and hopefully the Filipino people will make the informed decision when they cast their votes.
We met with Sen Honasan, a week after Vice Presidential debates wherein he was praised by analysts, for proving his ‘seniority’ during the televised event held at the University of Santo Tomas
He may not be ahead of the surveys or the crowd favorite, but his answers and his statesmanlike demeanor did not go unnoticed and reaped praises from social media.
According to political consultant Malou Tiquia who posted on Facebook “Honasan showed to all his depth and experience. He was at ease discussing issues and policies. He cut the chase and directly went to explain things.”
Another analyst Prospero de Vera Jr also said Honasan veered away from attacking his 5 opponents for the vice presidency.
“Also in terms of his demeanor, he showed his seniority among the candidates. He refused to engage in mudslinging, he refused to attack the other candidates, and he kept on telling the other candidates to talk about issues, so he did extremely well to me,” De Vera was quoted in an article at Rappler.com
De Vera adds that Honasan was able to exhibit this during the debate, especially when Honasan brought up the need for a centralized zoning plan to improve provincial transportation. “[I think he answered very well the] one about land use because he has been handling the land use code for at least three Congresses now,” said De Vera.
Honasan proved that he is not only the most experienced with 18 years of military service 7 years as a rebel and 18 years as a senator, he also has the most consistency.
His closing statement summarized his achievements and highlighted what he feels is his best qualification: “Ang pinakamahalaga kong qualification: ako ay isang mabuting padre de pamilya at asawa, at isang mabuting ama. Kapag tinanong niyo ang mga apo ko, ako ang the best na lolo.”
“This is a very critical point in our nation’s history, we need leaders who can hit the ground running and be able to implement the platforms they promised our people.” This is a beautiful country. We are good people. We must stop dreaming already. The job of leaders is not to give the people what they want. Our job as candidates especially presidential and vice presidential candidates, is to educate the people, to teach them what they should stop dreaming about and to start praying hard and working hard for.”
This is one time where national impatience is a virtue. Let’s continue to work hard, pray hard for unity, peace and the prosperity that will follow for the sake of our most precious God-given resource, our next generation of leaders and citizens, our children.”
Should he win as Vice President, Honasan says his focus and priority will be security “Generic security. Not the security we give to policemen and soldiers. Food security. The lines—foreign policy, economic policy, security policy, food, clothing, shelter, food security, job security, security from traffic, security of OFWs—it has to be approached in a holistic manner, that’s the job of government. It’s a lot of work that is why we need serious, hardworking candidates.
“Ill put my 42 years of public service on the line and tell the people what makes me different, the strength, courage of my convictions and the audacity to make things happen. I will help solve crimes or die trying.”
What does he think of a Duterte presidency? “I think it will be a strong presidency. The gray area is rights. I don’t know if the Davao experiment can work on a national scale. And these are variables that we cannot discuss.”
He said criminals should not be summarily killed because even they have the right to life and innocence until proven guilty.
“Killing everybody will not solve the problem… Even criminals have rights. Suppose you make a mistake? Ano sasabihin mo sa umiiyak na nanay? Oops, Sorry, nagkamali kami?”
He said a candidate promising to end criminality in three to six months should instead focus on fighting poverty, which he said is the root cause of criminality. “We’ll solve crimes in so many months, ‘pag sinabi mong ganun, siguraduhin mong masosolve din ang poverty.”
Lastly, I asked him what was the hardest part of the campaign for him and he said it wasn’t the constant travelling, or the long hours in the sun, heat sometimes rain, or the seemingly endless speeches.
“The most difficult part is when the people—some of whom travel for several hours, just to see you, to shake your hand or hug you—it is during those moments that you feel that they are all pinning their hopes on you, placing their trust in you—hanging on to your every word—dun mo marerealize yung bigat ng pakiramdam, yung pressure, na umaasa sila sa yo para gumanda ang kinabukasan nila. At ayokong mapahiya sa kanila.
