Paras: The Tower of Power Failure

Jing Paras not Benjie Paras. The first district representative of Negros Oriental recently announced that he has bolted from the minority. He cited differences with Minority Leader Francis Escudero as his reason. So what’s his main beef? Charter Change. He wants to push the constitutional agenda of big brother Joe de Venecia which is contradictory to the opposition’s stand.

However, Paras clarified that he would not join the Majority. Instead he proclaims himself as “a voice in the wilderness.” Whatever.

I wasn’t surprised by the guy’s latest antics. During Arroyo’s impeachment trial, Paras admitted that he was at odds with the young and charismatic congressman. He even added that he prefers Ronnie Zamora as minority leader. So what took him so long to leave the minority bloc? I don’t know and I don’t care.

Due to the fact that I am conspiracy theory buff, I’ll provide my precious but malicious explanation why he left the minority.

First, he wants to be the minority leader. Paras’s political ambitions are too obvious to ignore. He was one of the two lawmakers (the other being Ronnie Zamora) who contested Escudero’s minority leadership in the congress. Although they conceded to Chiz, it’s quite apparent that he desires to be the top dog. The way he fights to get media attention during the impeachment debates is beyond me! May I remind you Mr. Congressman of what you said before and I quote, “I thought I should set aside my personal ambition to be minority leader so that we could be united in the minority.”

Second, he’s advocating for Charter Change because of his political survival. This is the last term of Jacinto Paras. Political differences, my crap! You simply want to extend your political shelf life.

When Jing Paras opted to be “a voice in the wilderness,” he pointed out that he’ll continue to oppose Gloria Arroyo. Here’s a newsflash: if you support Charter Change, you support Gloria Arroyo. It’s that simple and it’s that clear – as clear as Paras’s political aspirations