Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr.

Suddenly, his ads are appearing in the papers. Now, several provincial politicians are pushing for his candidacy.

The good news is he seems to be capable of doing his job. Supporters frequently point out all the infrastructure work he has completed. That’s great. Anyone care to audit it? No seriously, I am a big fan of building up our infrastructure simply because I see the utter lack of it. Provincial roads have become synonymous with dirt tracks. We need transportation and communication structures, not to mention flood prevention facilities, classrooms and irrigation works. Unfortunately, public works has the nasty reputation of enabling and cultivating corruption: kickbacks, overpriced projects and things that never get built.  An audit of the department during Sec. Ebdane’s tenure sounds like a reasonable request don’t you think? After all he is aiming to be president. We want an honest president right?

Speaking of honesty, we should also remember that Sec. Ebdane’s name came up during the “Hello Garci” drama. Allegations ranged from his having provided transportation to Mr. Garcilliano to providing protection to the same. In short, he was involved. Take that how you will. I find it hard to judge because I was not paying a lot of attention that time.

While we’re at it, I feel that his supporters should stop labeling him a man with a plan or a vision. I’ve checked online and have yet to see any platform of any form. Even the news fails to mention any sort of agenda other than “become president.” So, until I see a plan, the imaging is pure hyperbole and does disservice to the Sec.

What about his other qualification? Police and Security. We need that too. He was the SAF commander in 1989-991. During his tenure as PNP head (2002-2004), his old unit involved itself in numerous high profile activities: fighting terrorists, disarming private armies, arresting criminals, protecting ballot boxes. Seems he did pretty well because the 2004 election was the most peaceful. Oh wait, wasn’t that the one that involved the “Hello Garci” thing? Maybe I should stop right here. Every time I think about his qualifications more questions come up. I doubt I’ll find easy answers. More research will eat a lot of time. But I’ll still keep an eye on this one.

Alright, questions aside, my current assessment is:

He has a track record keeping the law and building infrastructure. He seems reliable in these aspects.

No Platform.