Raymund de Silva
April 2016
(First of the Four Series)
Introduction
In less than three weeks, the
Philippines will have its local and national elections. It will be the fifth
presidential elections since the Marcos dictatorial regime was ousted from
power.
More than fifty four millions
(54,363,844) registered voters (including the 1.4 millions Overseas Filipino
Workers ) will elect the seventeen thousand two hundred (17,200) national and
local officials this coming May 9, 2016.
The current President and
current Vice-President, 12 senators (out of 24), 285 members of the House of
Representatives (including 50 members of the Party List), 81 governors, 144
city mayors and the same number for city vice mayors, 2,980 municipal mayors
and vice mayors, 1 each for governor and vice governor of the Autonomous Region
for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), 24 ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly members, 772
Sangguniang Panlalawigan members (provincial council), 1610 Sangguniang
Panglunsod members (city council) and 11,000 members of Sangguniang Bayan
(municipal council) will mostly vacate their positions on or before June 30,
2016.
There are politicians who have
not yet reached the maximum allowable
terms who can still be
re-elected in the same positions. There are also politicians (542) who are sure
to occupy the same positions because they do not have opponents – simply said
there is no elections in their areas. Prominently among those 542 officials
without opponents are the daughter of the late dictator Marcos – Imee Marcos –
running for Governor in Ilocos and the former President Gloria M.
Arroyo – who is running for a
seat in the House of Representatives in Pampanga. These are the two areas in
the country where the number of voters are among the biggest – and therefore
those who are running for national positions and who want to win in these vote-rich
areas – have to deal with people like Imee Marcos and Gloria M. Arroyo and
their allies.
The May 9, 2016 elections is
significant in the sense that it will be an end of the term of a second Aquino
presidency (2010-2016) whose election has been mainly due to the peoples’
reaction to a very unpopular presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. His mother
(President Corazon C. Aquino) was literally put into power by peoples’ uprising
against the Marcos dictatorship-a very hated and unpopular president in the
country’s history. Such electoral process has come full circle. The two Aquino
presidencies have greatly failed to institutionalize the democratic principles
and peoples’ power which put them into office.
Coming from the bourgeois
landlord elite of the country, the people do not expect the Aquino-Conjuanco
regime to institute a system change but at least they could have started some
democratic reforms and pro-people programs and policies.
The first Aquino Presidency
had greatly failed in making sure that Marcos and his family were made to
answer their crimes against the Filipinos. She (Corazon C. Aquino) has even
agreed to honor all the debts of the country (including those incurred by the
Marcos cronies) by putting this commitment in the country’s 1987 Constitution
(30% of the national budget is yearly and automatically set aside for debt
payment). The most glaring failure of the first Aquino Presidency is to recover
the more than 10 billion dollars stolen by the Marcos family from the
impoverished people of the country. The same stolen wealth and money have been
used to hire high caliber lawyers by the Marcoses to fight the legal blocks and
processes thrown along their way in getting back to power. But more than
anything else, the first Aquino presidency had failed to prosecute the Marcoses
and made them accountable to the human rights violations they committed against
the more than seventy thousand (70,000) human rights victims. It has been
thirty years now since the Marcos dictatorship was ousted and yet the victims
have yet to see justice.
At present, under the watch of
the second Aquino presidency, the Marcoses have not only recovered the Ilocos
areas but also consolidated them to become one of the formidable electoral
block in the country .This block together with other allies is about to put
another Marcos and namesake of the dictator into a heart bit away from the
Presidency. Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is currently running for
Vice President of the country and in fact leading in all the poll surveys conducted
before the May 9, 2016 elections.
The two Aquino Presidencies
have gravely failed to institute genuine and truly democratic land reform-again
a clear manifestation of their haciendero hearts and interests.
They (the Aquinos) have been
credited in allowing the bourgeoisie and the elite (of the pre-dictatorial
period to gain back and in fact control some of the strategic businesses in the
country. The Lopezes, Ayalas and Aboitez among others have been building and
consolidating their business empires during the Aquino administrations.
In the case of Mindanao, the
current Aquino government has shown the same historical failure as his mother
did to the dictator and his family by not acting decisively on the case of the
2009 Maguindanao massacre. The 2009 massacre of 52 people, including more than
30 journalists was the single biggest election related crime in the country and
even in the world involving journalists. Obtaining justice to the massacre
victims became one of the bottle cries of the Aquino in 2010 presidency
campaign.
This single deadly event is
very significant because it is the result of giving special favors and
accommodation of then President Gloria Arroyo of a Maguindanao influencial clan
who became a powerful warlord in the island. Before November 23, 2009
Maguindanao Massacre the clan had been committing murders and crimes basically
with impunity. The clan had total control of the ruling political
machinery of then President
Arroyo in the area as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the
Philippine National Police (PNP).
The second Aquino presidency
has again failed to continuously prosecute and consummate the hearing of cases
against the Ampatuans (the clan behind the Maguindanao Massacre). It is in
effect, continuing the policy of impunity of the Arroyo government. Peoples in
Mindanao will pay a high price to this historical inaction.
At present, the Ampatuans have
almost recovered their old power and glory in some areas in Mindanao. They have
maintained their arsenal of weaponry and the money they have accumulated during
the Arroyo administration. They are participating in the May 2016 elections in
the second district of the province of Maguindanao.
The appreciation of this
context will help people to understand the current national political landscape
and the actual conduct of politicians in their campaigns to win in May 9, 2016
elections. Will there be changes in the conduct of the electoral campaigns of
the candidates? Will the political platforms or the personality centered campaign
styles prevail during these elections? What will be the role of the political-electoral
parties and their machineries in these electoral activities?
I.
The
Presidentiables and Their Machineries
Five politicians are vying for
the 2016 Presidency. The four are running under political parties while one is
running as an independent candidate. The current Vice President is running as
President under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) – a multi-party electoral
alliance replacing the former United Nationalist Opposition (UNO) which was
launched as a single political party on July 1, 2015 by Vice President Jejomar
Binay for his Presidential candidacy in 2016. The alliance is composed of
Bagumbayan-Volunteers, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) ER Ejercito wing,
Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC) Mark Conjuangco wing and LAKAS-CMD and
affiliated local parties.
Currently, UNA has three
members in the Senate (out of 24) and 8 members in the House of Representatives
(out of 282 in the 16th Congress). UNA has a nationwide machinery with local
candidates running under its name.
The second candidate is Davao
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who is the last candidate to file his candidacy for the
presidency and he is running under the Partido Democratiko Pilipino (PDP).
Senator Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel is the current President of the party while
Mayor Rodrigo ‘Rody’ Duterte is its national chairman. The Secretary General of
the party is Martin Diño who had filed first for the presidency while Duterte
was not yet ready and who was later substituted by Duterte as the party’s
candidate in the last minute of filing and substituting candidates for
presidency. PDP members are mainly coming from Mindanao especially after the
resignation of Vice President Jejomar Binay as its party chairman.
The third Presidential
Candidate is Senator Grace Poe who is running under the Partido Galing at Puso
(Wisdom and Empathy). It is an umbrella coalition party between support groups
for the 2016 presidential candidacy of Senator Grace Poe and the 2016
Philippine Senate election line up. The Wisdom and Empathy Party is composed
mostly of non-affiliated supporters of Poe and a current Senator of the Philippines
and her vice prsedential running mate, Francis “Chiz” Escudero) and supporters
from the Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC). Basically, they (Poe and Escudero)
are running as independent candidates. They are building their party machineries
while campaigning.
The fourth candidate is Mar
Roxas who is running under the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid (Coalition of the
Straight Path). It is the umbrella of the administration-backed presidential
and senatorial line up for 2016 Philippine elections. It is composed of mostly
supporters of former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
Secretary Mar Roxas who announced his presidential bid after the endorsement of
President Benigno Aquino III during the event dubbed as a “Gathering of
Friends” at the historical Club Filipino on July 13, 2015. It is the remnant of
the Team Pinoy which was formed by the Liberal Party along with Akbayan (Citizens’
Action Party), Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, Nationalista
Party, Nationalist Peoples’
Coalition and the National Unity Party as its coalition members.
The fifth Presidential
Candidate is Senator Miriam Santiago of the People’s Reform Party (PRP). It is
a center-left political party founded in April 12, 1991 of former Agrarian
Reform Secretary Miriam Santiago for her bid as President in the 1992
Presidential elections. In this 2016 elections, Santiago invited Senator Ferdinand
“Bongbong” Marcos to be her running mate (Vice President). The PRP Senatorial
Candidates are all guests’ candidates – who principally run in the other political
parties.
II.
The
Conduct of the elections
As the election day is nearing
the conduct of the Presidential campaigns has intensified and has reached its
lowest level. Daily the voters and their families have been hearing and
witnessing in the tri-media the below the belt styles of campaigning of the
presidentiables and their followers.
Earlier on, when the current
Vice President jejomar Binay announced his bid for presidency he has been
subject of various attacks. The most notable one is the Senate investigation
conducted by senatorial allies of both the administration and opposition who
have been planning to put their own candidates. For more than one year, Vice
President Binay and his family have been subjected on issues of corruption
heard live in national television. It is no wonder then that from being number
one in the earlier poll surveys, the Vice President has been tailing two other candidates
in the current poll surveys.
It has become a trend then,
that whoever tops and is the leading candidate in poll survey he or she will
always be subjected to different issues and attacks by those tailing in the
said surveys. This is a big advantage for those candidates who have not been on
the top’s spots notably Mar Roxas-the administration candidate and Miriam
Santiago who have never been in serious campaigning because she is under
medication for cancer.
The three candidates who have
been topping the poll surveys namely Binay, Poe and Duterte have been the
center of attacks and harassments mainly coming from the followers/supporters
of the administration and for those candidates who are not on the top of the
surveys. So after Binay, Poe has been attacked on the issues about her
citizenship and number of years of stay to qualify for the Presidency.
These attacks have persisted
even after the Supreme Court has declared that Poe is qualified to run as
President. At present, it is Mayor Duterte who has been leading the latest
survey and therefore everybody has attacked him from all angles.
In the last three to four
surveys conducted nationwide, the Mayor (Duterte) led all other presidentiables.
In fact, many has expected him (Duterte) to drop his rating after his famous or
infamous statement on rape case of an Australian woman missionary in the 1989
hostage case in Davao City. But the opposite is happening – the mayor has still
topped the latest survey (conducted after his rape statement).
Seemingly, there are reasons
for this phenomenon. The people or the voters for that matter are so fed up
with all the bad news that they have been exposed that they simply want a
change. The rape case for instance happened when people have heard about the
killings, intensifying drug issues, lawlessness and the inability of the current
Aquino government to act and prevent such crimes and implement basic social
services. Many people have reacted especially to the failure of the government and
its agencies to give adequate and timely assistance to the victims (mostly farmers)
of the El Niño or the long drought which affected many farmers in the rural
areas.
It can be observed that
Duterte has been consistently showing in his campaigns and speeches a decisive
and determine leader to act on the most pressing problems like drugs and
corruption. He shows that he is not bothered by bureaucracies and even legal
processes when solving these heinous crimes. People
want to see immediate action
to solve these crimes. Duterte promises to deliver solutions in the first three
to six months of his presidency. And the people seem (as shown in the latest
survey April 12-17) to approve such method and swiftness in solving such crimes.
On the other hand, it might also be that Duterte’s statement on the rape case
has not yet reached and digested by the people/voters so that it has not yet
manifested in the result of the poll surveys.
Surely this phenomenon is
affecting the administration-backed candidate Mar Roxas. He has been tailing in
all the surveys and some administration supporters in the provinces have
continue to jump ship (Governor Joey Salceda of Albay has declared his support
to Grace Poe) and the Almarios in Davao Oriental have supported Duterte and not
Mar Roxas).
This trend is showing the
voters’ preference of the hard line approach or even dictatorial tendencies of
leadership styles as personified by Duterte. This is indeed bringing some
serious concerns. This is even alarming when one sees that in the vice
presidentiables – Senator Bongbong Marcos – the son of the former dictator Marcos
– is also leading in the poll surveys for the vice presidency. What is even worst
is that the voting preferences for both Presidency and Vice-presidency is coming
from the voters from the people in Metro Manila and the upper and middle classes
of the country. And to think that it has just been thirty years (this year),
that the people had ousted the Marcos dictatorship. Today, all signs have shown
that the dictatorship in another form is coming back and this is having
chilling effects on the democratic and progressive forces in the country. A
Duterte and Bongbng Marcos presidency and vice presidency respectively is
becoming a reality.
It is simply that the people
is so desperate of the current miserable situation that they are ready to cling
and believe to any promise (solving these problems in three to six months) that
people like Duterte and the younger Marcos have promised them.
Despite the administration’s
difficulties in running its campaigns on the slogan of the continuity of the
“matuwid and daan” (The Right Path), it has tried other stocks and reserves in
its arsenal to hit a surprise to its opponents.
The administration has been
maximizing its resources (finances and influence in the other branches and
agencies in the government) to hit or debase its opponents. For instance, the
Ombudsman and the Sandigang Bayan not mentioning the Department of Justice, the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) to file cases against well-known supporters of other Presidential
candidates. Not a few governors and local officials have been unseated to their
offices during the crucial periods of the campaigns. This method of campaigning
is running the elections by eliminating the opponents and their supporters
before the actual elections. The areas affected by this method is the vote-rich
provinces like Laguna (the suspended governor is a well-known Binay supporter,
The Mayor of Cebu city- the highest registered number of voters in the country
but also a known Binay supporter was also recently suspended by the DILG.
At this stage of the campaign,
funds have been seen changing hands among local politicians identified to the
administration, to put hold and control their supporters and machineries while
the elections are nearing. This is an attempt to prevent them from jumping ship
and prevent a bandwagon effect of the leading trend of other candidates. The
funds are coming from the national leadership of the ruling coalition.
It is not circumstantial that
drugs-related crime and kidnappings have intensified during this period. This
is obviously to raise funds for the elections. Everybody has been fully aware
that in the coming election funds coming from drugs related activities are
flooding the communities especially in those areas where people are
experiencing extreme miseries and hardship because of the long drought. Buying
votes have reached Php 5000 per family. This is known as narcopolitics – using
drug money to influence the results of the national and local elections. The
drug lords have supported candidates who can protect their interests.
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