We need a miracle!

We are voting today for 12 senators, 254 congressmen, 63 party list representatives and thousands of LGU officials. Based on pre-election surveys, the quality of Senate membership will go down some more notches.

Our voters think this is just a popularity contest rather than a civic duty to choose qualified people who will run the country.

Gone are the days when we elected statesmen to the Senate. Maybe that’s partly because our two-party system in the past screened the candidates. While a popular movie star once became a senator in the late 50s, by and large only those with track records in public service and governance got nominated.

The multi-party system of the 1987 Constitution messed up things a lot. Now the political party isn’t as important as the name recall of individual candidates. Indeed, as in the case of the Villars, the Tulfos and the Cayetanos, their family name is more important than their political party’s name.

The pre-election surveys suggest there will be three Tulfos, two Cayetanos and possibly two Villars in addition to two Ejercito Estradas, all siblings, in the next Senate. With about 70 million Filipinos registered to vote, nine out of the 24 senators will come from just four families. Not only did Congress refuse to pass the law banning political dynasties that the 1987 constitutional provision mandated them to do, the political dynasties have established themselves in the Senate as well.

Then there are the celebrity candidates. These are washed-up actors in movies and television who can no longer get enough work to sustain their accustomed high-living lifestyles. So they run for senator, congressman, governor or mayor because public officials in the Philippines are scandalously rich – never mind how.

Former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. advised his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., against pursuing a career in science, suggesting it was not a path to wealth. In a 2022 speech, President Marcos Jr. recounted that his father told him, “Mahirap ‘yung science, hindi ka yayaman diyan” (science is difficult, you won’t get rich there).

One laos actor told an interviewer he was running for the Senate so he can help people. That’s it.

Another one, a TV host, confessed he has no plans or ideas what he will do as a senator. He is focused on getting elected first.

At least two of the top-ranking senatorial bets are Duterte minions whose only claim to fame is their Duterte connection. The Duterte factotum claimed a health care program funded by the government as his own. The other, an ex-cop, has a habit of crying in public when subjected to pressure.

An action star became the topnotcher in the 2022 senatorial elections. We’ve also elected those convicted of or once accused of plunder and graft.

Senate President Chiz Escudero was reported to have remarked that only two or three of the senators in the next Congress are lawyers. Since they are supposed to craft laws, Chiz complained it was getting difficult to get his colleagues to understand legal concepts under discussion.

Given what we know of Pinoy voting behavior, is there hope for electing better quality public officials?

Not really. Ask voters how they decide who to vote for and they will say they choose candidates who are mukhang madaling lapitan, mukhang mabait, sikat at matulungin. They overlook competence, experience and professional track record. To them, congressmen give them ayuda, construct basketball courts and give away grocery items. The work of writing laws to govern the country is not relevant to them.

The thing that makes me wonder is why the die-hard supporters of Duterte are still fiercely loyal to him. Ask a taxi driver and he almost always says it is because of peace and order. They say that the bullies in their neighborhood are back after Duterte made them lie low. Those in the upper class say they are worried about the upsurge in kidnapping cases.

There are some research findings indicating that voters with lower educational attainment and socioeconomic status are more inclined to support candidates based on personal ties and popularity above worthiness. But I think this inclination goes across socioeconomic classes including those who are better educated.

I once came across a Facebook posting of a lawyer-educator who is well respected in civil society circles and an advocate of good governance including resisting political dynasties. He included Pia Cayetano in his list of senatorial candidates. Perhaps realizing it will not resonate with his constituency, he quickly justified it, pointing out he had past favorable dealings with her. Never mind the political dynasty angle.

UP sociologist Randy David once wrote: “I know of some educated voters who cannot imagine not supporting the candidacies of people they personally know and relate to, even when these candidates openly endorse presidential bets who represent everything they oppose. This willful blindness to issues and to visions of a better society is what makes our politics so hopelessly myopic and personal.”

Pinoys love politics but think of it as a horse race, betting included. Sino ang malakas. Sino ang mas kilala.

For today’s election, public opinion research firm WR Numero’s survey examined the self-identified political leanings of respondents. It found that two in five identified with the Dutertes – a significant bloc but not a majority. Another 31.4 percent identified as independent while the remaining 28.6 percent were either “pro-Marcos” (15 percent) or supporters of the opposition including figures like former vice president Leni Robredo, Sen. Risa Hontiveros and the broader “pink” movement (13.6 percent).

Is there hope that Filipinos will learn to exercise better judgment in electing our leaders?

Not in our lifetime, it seems… unless a miracle happens!

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco