Reaffirmation

Here we go again, in our periodic reaffirmation of the mandate of clowns, crooks and snake oil salesmen. Occasionally we luck out and pick individuals worthy of being called leaders. But mostly we just swing from one bunch of gangsters to another.

If you don’t believe me, consider several of the individuals who consistently enter the “Magic 12” circle of likely winners in the 2016 Senate race. Who’s the frontrunner, and who are the ones languishing outside the charmed circle? Look at the candidates for local positions, including for barangays.

Elections are supposed to bring change. In our case, the change happens mainly at the top, with the president. Candidates for the nation’s highest post at least are subjected to minute scrutiny by the people.

It’s human nature for voters to have one overriding question in selecting candidates: what’s in it for me? Anyone who claims not to ask that question is a hypocrite.

But in the presidential race, at least, and perhaps in the contest for vice president, who will automatically succeed in case the top official is incapacitated, there are voters who have an accompanying question: what can this candidate do for the country? These are the voters who understand that what’s good for the nation tends to trickle down to the individual.

For other candidates down the line, only “what’s in it for me?” remains.

This is partly why political parties are meaningless in this country. Election choices are personality-based. Which barangay candidate is my friend or neighbor so he can have my street repaved and the garbage collected regularly? Which one will endorse my application for inclusion in the conditional cash transfer program? (Oh yes, CCT vetting has been politicized under daang sarado.)

Which candidate for mayor or vice mayor might fire me from my job as street sweeper or janitor at city hall? The stakes become higher with the contested positions. Which one will endorse my promotion or get me a plum post?

The questions basically run on similar themes all the way up to the presidency, where campaign donors expect handsome returns on investment: multibillion-peso sweetheart deals, the perpetuation of monopolies and oligopolies, and appointments to prominent posts and sinecures.

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Political parties are mere machineries for raising funds and running a campaign. Politicians feel no shame in being branded a political butterfly. Clans and major donors cover all bases and bet on at least the three top presidential contenders, as indicated in surveys.

No one is surprised that the clan of Joseph Estrada is openly supporting different presidential candidates. He himself continues to play coy when asked if he is for his late bosom buddy’s adopted daughter Grace Poe or Vice President Jejomar Binay of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). In case Poe is disqualified (when we’ve all dropped dead from waiting for a Supreme Court ruling), that’s when Erap might go for Binay, although depending on the way the survey wind blows, he might join his second family in supporting Mar Roxas.

Voters are aware of the meaninglessness of political parties and have often picked presidents and vice presidents from different parties.

Candidates who already enjoy strong name recall see no problem running as independents and being “adopted” by several parties. There is no solid, defining party stand on raging issues.

Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, who is running for the Senate under Poe’s slate, is a member of the ruling Liberal Party. He says he is on leave from the LP and has not verified reports that he has been dropped from its roster. He explained that he decided to support Poe after Roxas opposed an income tax cut. Romulo had filed a bill as far back as two years ago, proposing tax cuts for lower and middle income earners.

Romulo laments the lack of consultation between President Aquino and even his allies in the House of Representatives on legislative matters. To feel ignored is a big deal, Romulo told us in a segment of TV5’s “Aplikante” with Luchi Cruz-Valdes, where I was a guest interviewer.

Romulo has solid ideas for legislation, with his advocacies focused on tax reforms and improving education, which are part of Poe’s 20-point campaign agenda. But he’s currently way below the Magic 12; perhaps her popularity will carry him to the winning circle.

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Needing no strong standard bearer is independent bet Panfilo Lacson.

He used to hate politics and politicians. Today Lacson is seeking to regain his seat in the Senate, where he became notable for two things: he did not avail himself of his pork barrel allocation, and he focused on fiscalizing and high-profile exposés.  

His appointment as post-Yolanda rehabilitation czar triggered speculation that Lacson was being groomed for higher office. Like Francis Pangilinan, however, if there was ever any attempt to make Lacson outshine the presumptive LP standard bearer at the time, it was quickly torpedoed.

In typical fashion, the frustrated Lacson dug deep to understand why his stint as rehab czar turned into a disaster. Before another segment of “Aplikante,” he quoted detailed figures about budgeting, and how daang sarado circumvented the Supreme Court ruling against pork barrel-type funds in last year’s appropriation.

He also cited specific figures on how much each of the towns, cities and provinces could get if his proposed budget reform legislation would be passed, empowering local government units. The reform, he told us, could ease patronage politics and end the culture of mendicancy that has developed between LGUs and the central government.

“This is doable,” he told us, adding he spent “sleepless nights” studying the subject thoroughly.

In wanting to give LGUs more say in planning development projects, Lacson cited the case of a town he visited in Camarines Sur that needs only one bridge to bypass three towns so goods can be brought quicker to the market. The bridge project still awaits funding.

His criticisms about “poor planning” and budgeting are directed more at P-Noy. Lacson is that unique Filipino election creature – a common candidate – of Roxas and Binay.

Although a common candidate, Lacson is not relying on either the LP or UNA for campaign support. He has his own donors, a number of whom he had helped during his days as a tough anti-crime cop.

When I observed that he seemed to have moved from peace and order to budget reforms, he chuckled, “Nag-evolve na ako (I have evolved).”

Although Roxas’ bungling of the Yolanda disaster response led to the creation of Lacson’s post as rehab czar, he told us he owed Roxas a personal debt and believed the LP bet would serve well in case of victory.

In Philippine politics, personal loyalties always trump the party.