In the world of Philippine politics nothing should surprise anyone anymore. Especially during election time: Old enemies become best friends, and ideological allies suddenly see each other on opposite sides of the political fence.

Just look at the waves of discontent produced by Sen. Loren Legarda joining hands with opposition candidate Fernando Poe, Jr. As the “crying lady” of the Senate, who became a symbol of the EDSA II forces, Legarda has catapulted herself into the middle of the opposition, accepting Poe’s invitation to run as his vice-presidential candidate in the May 10 elections.

This irked former senators Francisco Tatad and Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Santiago has now declared she will run as an independent under the banner of her own party.

Across town, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s endless flip-flopping around for political advantage finally made civil society groups come out and declare that they were alarmed by the president’s outrageous “opportunism”.

They were referring not only to the president’s announced pledge a few months ago of trying to achieve national reconciliation by pardoning former enemies such as ex-President Joseph Estrada and the Marcoses, but to the administration’s proposed lineup for the elections.

Not only have Sen. John Osmena and Orlando Mercado filed papers to run for the Senate under the administration’s Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party, but a slot had been reserved for Santiago too!

Thank goodness Santiago has much integrity left in her, and refused the Lakas-CMD invitation to run under its banner. But EDSA II activists must be heaving with horror at Osmena and Mercado running on the administration’s slate. Just as they must be upset at seeing Legarda run with Poe, who many in the administration claim to be a doppelganger for Estrada.

But as Legarda pointed out in many interviews this past week, Poe is a man of integrity, a man who cares deeply about the poor and the nation, and someone who cannot be manipulated. As she rightly pointed out to columnist Rina Jimenez-David, Poe doesn’t need a Harvard education to run the country, which is exactly what I’ve been saying all along to those sneering doubting-Tomases.

The loser in all this ship jumping seems to be presidential candidate Raul Roco. His campaign started with a loud bang, but now seems to be sinking into oblivion with hardly a whimper. He’s been losing candidates right and left, the first being Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, who after jumping ship from the LDP to Roco’s Aksyon Demokratiko is now running on the administration’s ticket.

On Wednesday, former President Fidel Ramos’ daughter Cristy withdrew from Roco’s ticket after her father told her to. Ramos is the chairman emiratus of the Lakas-CMD, and naturally doesn’t want his daughter running against the administration.

Of course the official campaigning period hasn’t started yet, so Roco still has a chance of rebounding, but I wouldn’t bet on it. All the money seems to be on an Arroyo-De Castro vs. Poe-Legarda fight. It’s going to be bloody and it won’t be pretty.

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What’s Going On in Kuwait?

It is unfortunate but true: Young Filipina maids in Kuwait seem to be the target of choice these days for young Kuwaiti men when they decide to rape someone.

A veritable slew of rape cases involving Filipina maids have cropped up in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates over the past six months. In the UAE a few months ago, a young Filipina woman was gang raped by several UAE men after she accepted a lift home from them after attending a party. They drove her out to the desert, raped her and dumped her there. Luckily, the police found her in time and took her to the hospital for treatment. Now, in Kuwait the Philippine Embassy is pressing charges against three Kuwaiti policemen who not only raped but also sodomized an 18-year-old runaway Filipina maid. She had run away from an allegedly abusive employer to seek refuge in a police station. One can only imagine her horror to find out that rather than be protected by the police, she was repeatedly raped by them! Such cruel irony.

The three policemen have been detained and are denying the charges, but according to a Kuwaiti newspaper forensic tests have shown that she was indeed raped by the policemen. In a heartening move, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has said it is determined to have charges pressed against the three policemen.

This is not the first rape of a Filipina in Kuwait. Just a few months ago another Filipina domestic helper was gang-raped by nine Kuwaiti teenagers at a desert camp. The late Foreign Secretary Blas Ople protested strongly to the Kuwaiti Charge d’Affaires in Manila last November, but I haven’t heard what happened to the nine teenagers.

The problem with all these rapes is that it just shows how many Gulf men think that foreign women, especially Asian ones, are mere objects to satisfy their more obscene sexual desires. I think it is symptomatic of a macho culture gone horribly wrong, one where the rigid segregation of the sexes only serves to make some Gulf men into sexual monsters.

The other side to these nasty rapes is why is the Philippines deploying 18-year-old women to the Gulf to be maids? I thought there were strict age restrictions for the domestic helpers sent abroad, and that they had to be at least 25 years of age and above?

It is obvious that corruption allows some underage women to slip out of the country, but the DFA, OWWA and POEA have to do more to make sure that 18-year-old women are not deployed abroad, especially as domestic helpers which places them at great risk of sexual molestation.

I just hope that the Kuwaiti policemen who raped the maid get severely punished for their nasty act. Being fired from their jobs, losing all their benefits and facing at least 20 years in jail, should be the least punishment they receive.

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