CBCP prediction: Former First Lady Loi will win Senate seat

The Filipinos’ inherent love for the underdog may yet propel former First Lady Luisa "Loi" Ejercito to the Senate, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday.

Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, CBCP president, said Ejercito could win a Senate seat by hauling in the sympathy votes for her husband, former President Joseph Estrada, ousted from office last January through a people’s revolt.

"She’s going to win because of the ‘martyrdom complex.’ That would be the reason the people will vote for her and not for her husband," Quevedo told Catholic radio station Radio Veritas.

The Archbishop of Cotabato said Filipinos will vote for Ejercito because they see her as "a person who is suffering much."

History will bear his theory out, Quevedo said, citing past political scenarios where the wife of an assassinated candidate handily won an election.

Though he did not mention specific names, he was obviously referring to former President Corazon Aquino who rode the crest of popular discontent against the Marcos regime following the assassination of her husband, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.

And going back to the 1960s, one can recall the widow of a candidate surnamed Antonino who won a Senate seat after the original candidate died in a helicopter crash.

"Kung assassinated ang husband, the wife takes over. She easily wins," Quevedo said in his radio program "CBCP sa Radio Veritas."

These things happen no matter what the reputation of the husband was, he said, pointing out that the phenomenon was not unique to the Philippines.

Despite her name having been dragged into several controversies involving her husband, Quevedo believes Ejercito is a very good lady.

"She’s a woman of faith though implicated in some issues. I consider her a devout lady with deep religious faith," he said.

But Quevedo cautioned the former first lady on the sufferings that go with her joining the political arena. He said she will certainly bear the brunt of the issues and charges against Estrada.

"And I would no really want her to go through that suffering from the issues and charges of immoral behavior of her husband while in political office, using public presidential power and authority immorally for the use of cronies and not for the good of the country," Quevedo said.

Anticipating the tough grind ahead for Ejercito, he assured her of prayers from the Catholic Church and the country’s bishops. "We really pray for her. I have to pray hard for her."

Quevedo also said it was possible that Ejercito would eventually withdraw from the race: "Siguro naman baka maka-withdraw pa siya."

He said it would be better for her to beg off rather than endure the hardships of a political campaign. "Surely, she could not be insulated ... when the serious campaigns come," he added.

Anyway, he stressed that Ejercito’s winning an election will not prove the innocence of her husband. "She’s not going to prove that by winning," he said.