This blog is basically about food. But since it is election season I also want to write about our politicians. So to match the subjects of these blog post with the theme of the site, I'll try to relate our senatoriables to food we commonly eat. This is all for fun so please always bear in mind that there is no pun intended in each of the senatoriables I try to describe. Ang pikon, panis!
1. Ms. Nancy Binay - Dinuguan. It's not about the color, I tell you! You see, dinuguan is basically composed of pig's blood and its innards. I imagine that dinuguan was created so that the pig's blood and the innards will not be thrown to waste.You see, all the other parts of the pig have their uses so it is easy to just throw away the rest. It's like the case of the Binays. Daddy Jojo is the Vice President. Sister Abigail Binay is a Congresswoman. Brother Junjun Binay is the Mayor of Makati City. It is easy to just forget about Nancy. But like dinuguan, there just might be an important use for her. Senate perhaps?
2. Ms. Loren Leagrda - Roasted Garlic. Roasted Garlic is added to various kinds of dishes. It adds flavor to these dishes, that's a given. But many of these dishes can also go without it. Now, how does that fit Loren? Well, many say she has transferred from one party to another one time too many. They say the transfers were more like to help her in her campaign than to really help the team. But Loren says she only changed party once -- from Lakas to NPC. All the others were brought about by coalitions (forming coalitions has been the norm these past few elections). Hopefully, like roasted garlic, she can spice up the senate if she gets elected.
3. Mr. Chiz Escudero - Ginataang Puso ng Saging. Well, he could be any ginataan but because of his affiliation to Heart I thought he'd be ginataang puso ng saging for now. Gata helps improve the flavor of other food. It enhances the taste of other food like chicken, pork, fish and yes, puso ng saging. Chiz also has a strong influence on others. He helped in pushing for the impeachment of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. And we all know he also helped Jojo Binay clinch the second highest position in the land. And lest you forget, Heart's parents also accuse him of influencing Heart's decisions. I can almost hear Heart's mom saying gata comes from the same source as lambanog which makes one drunk. Just saying.
4. Mr. Alan Cayetano - Vinegar. Vinegar is commonly used for dipping or cooking to either enhance or counteract (or both) the flavor of the food. Salty food like tuyo (salted fish) is dipped in vinegar to lessen the saltiness. In cooking adobo, vinegar counteracts the salty taste of the soy sauce but at the same time enhances the overall taste of the food. Alan is like vinegar because he is a critic to GMA -- counteracting the taste. He is also a critic to the Aquino administration being part of the minority block but he doesn't hit him as much as others (and how he used to do with the other administration). It is said that he is a critic BUT is supportive of the present administration. Is that why he is running under Team PNoy? Hmmm....much like vinegar in adobo, eh?
5. Mr. Dick Gordon - Fruit salad. Fruit salad is a famous dessert in the country. It helps remove the after taste of various kinds of food. For me, Gordon is fruit salad because I remember him well for his Wow Philippines. Again, fruit salad is very Filipino. He is also fruit salad because like a good dessert, he somehow cleared the "sin city" image of Olongapo as an after taste left by the US bases.
6. Mr. Gringo Honasan - Ampalaya Salad. Ampalaya salad is primarily made of Ampalaya or bitter gourd which we all know has a bitter taste. When marinated and mashed with salt and then mixed with other ingredients, a big percentage of its bitterness is removed. Gringo's actions in the past can be considered full of bitterness-- remember, he led two coup attempts against the Aquino (Cory) administration. But he has mellowed in a way because he now brings his battles to the senate floor rather on the streets.
7. Mr. Edward Hagedorn - Ginisang Bagoong. Bagoong has a strong taste. When mixed with food, its taste is what you will remember. Hagedorn is also know for being strong-willed that's why Puerto Princesa City was recognized at some point as having low crime rate. He also has a srong stand in saving mother earth. His bagoong and Loren's garlic could well blend in increasing our chances of saving the environment should they both get to the senate.
8. Ms. Cynthia Villar - Caviar. Caviar is made from salt-cured fish eggs (wikipedia). It is a luxury food. Obviously, I compare Villar to caviar because of her wealth. And besides, she is married to a man who used to sell seafood in Divisoria when he was young. Since she calls herself Mrs. Hanepbuhay, hopefully she can create jobs that would make people rich enough to afford at least fish for their families. Again, that if she wins even without the help of people she calls room nurses.
9. Mr. Ernesto Maceda - Salted Egg. Salted egg is prepared by soaking or curing egg in brine to preserve or prolong its life. Unlike ordinary eggs, salted egg can last a long time. So why is Maceda like a salted egg? Well, he has been in public service since 1959. He was able to last this long perhaps because he has been cured well.
10. Ms. Risa Hontiveros - Ube and Keso Ice Cream. Why she is called ube and keso ice cream shouldn't be a question anymore. Just look at her outfits (or outfit?) during campaign and you will already know why. But you know, ice cream is also strong enough to fight off the heat. People love to have ice cream during the hot season. Risa also fights it strong when it comes to the things that she likes like the protection of women and children and the RH bill. But she is probably hoping right now that she will not melt as fast as ice cream does as what surveys now are showing.
11 - 12. Mr. Miguel Zubiri and Mr. Koko Pimentel - Milk and Clamansi Juice. As to who is calamansi and who is milk I will leave that up to you. The point is you cannot really mix them together. If you do, there will surely be coagulation. They almost mixed in one party (UNA) this time but Koko opted to run under the other coalition (Team Pinoy) albeit being the head of PDP-Laban which is part of UNA. We all know why the two are very much against each other. Some say they will be opponents forever -- but rember, in politics, you can never really tell.
13. Ms. Grace Poe - Kwek kwek. Kwek kwek refers to deep fried quail eggs covered with orange batter. It is the small version of the tokneneng which refers to deep fried chicken or duck egg also covered with orange batter. In many cases, the two terms are interchanged. Some may actually do not know the difference. I compare Grace with kwek kwek because she is always seen as the daughter of Fernando Poe Jr -- a popular action star and a former Presidentiable. There are other children of ex or present politicians running for office but it is she who I think is always remembered as "the daughter of" because of the use of her father's surname in her commercial -- POE is used as PO which is a Filipino term that shows respect.
14. Mr. JV Ejercito - Penoy. Balut! Penoy! We often hear vendors shouting these two words at night. It's like you always have two kinds of eggs to choose from. Balut is actually more popular than penoy so in this case I would use it to refer to Jinggoy. I think he is the more popular one now simply because he is already holding a national position while JV is still trying to get there. Balut vendors (see, we do not call them penoy vendors) will always say there is really no competition between balut and penoy as Erap will also say these two half-brothers are not competing against each other. He'd probably say there is always enough room for two (one in San Juan and one in Manila? lol). But we all know that one will always be more popular than the other. It's Jinggoy now. Will it be JV tomorrow?
Please bear in mind that these are not necessarily the candidates I will vote for. They are just the interesting ones. They are the ones we always hear being talked about. (But I'll update the list from time to time.)
The things I wrote here are based on the things I read on various internet sites but mostly I got the idea about their profiles from www.rappler.com which I suggest you also read to guide you in choosing who to vote for.
