With both of them showing much bravado and machismo, I wonder who among the two will blink.

I am talking about two sets of personalities.

1. The Commission of Elections v. Lintang Bedol

The picture was jarring, to say it nicely. Seated on an empty table, the person was wearing a green-striped shirt, slouching like a Mafia boss, with a gun holstered at his right side for his audience to see. He had just lost important election documents and even proud to announce the loss, feigned that he received no summons while he had himself interviewed by reporters, snubbed his superiors, and dared them to have them arrested. “Sige (Go ahead). That means they have plans to file a case against me. I can post bail,” he said.

The commissioners of Comelec, having been snubbed by this man while cavorting with reporters, had enough, called his bluff and ordered his arrest. One commissioner was mad enought to issue strong words against him. “Let us see what he will do. I think he will start cringing like a cornered rat,” the commissioner said.

Poor Comelec. The arrest order is just bravado. Bedol can always do a Garci, and the question is not whether Bedol will do a Garci, but when. If the Comelec wanted Bedol arrested, you don’t call a press conference to announce that you’d have him arrested. If the Comelec is sincere in its efforts, it could have issued the order to the AFP and the PNP and present Bedol to the media upon capture. But no, they chose to telegraph their punches, and I assume Bedol will be on the run soon. The Comelec’s actions only prove one thing – it’s all for show. So, enjoy. Run, Bedol, run!

(In a text message flashed at DZMM TeleRadyo this morning: Pwede ba namin bugbugin si Bedol pag nahuli namin sya? My answer: go ahead, make my day.)

2. Aquilino Pimentel III v. Juan Miguel Zubiri

And since both the Comelec and Bedol had decided to screw up Maguindanao, we now have two scions of politicians who are willing to gang up on each other to attain the last slot in this year’s senatorial elections.

The first one has cried foul when the Comelec was hell-bent on canvassing the votes from Maguindanao; some people had alleged that the Maguindanao vote was tainted with fraud. (One of those who raised noise was killed.) He filed a case before the Supreme Courts, which some quarters saw as premature.

The other one has been noisy since Heaven knows what, proclaiming to the whole world that he will win. He was trailing the first one by more than a hundred thousand votes. The second one claimed that when the votes from several places were counted, he would overtake the first one. Now that only Maguindanao is left, he is now hell-bent on having the votes from that province canvassed, even if several consistent poll fraud allegations were aired and Bedol “lost” important election documents from that province.

Both of them show bravado, but Migs Zubiri is more consistent in his actions. By his illogical blustering, he shows that he is, as the blogger behind The Philippine Experience had said, a spoiled brat.

What Zubiri can’t see is that, even if he wins, it will be a tainted victory. His mandate will always be in question, just like how the mandate of the present occupant of the Fortress by the Pasig is in question still, three years after. He has unwittingly put himself in a deep hole of mud, and in the end, if ever he “wins”, he will find out that it is an empty one.

UPDATE:

The Comelec’s threat to arrest Bedol is a show. Imagine, a day after calling Bedol’s bluff, PNP has yet to receive the arrest warrant. And then there’s the Palace offer of protection to Bedol. What a show!