The pot is on the boil, but what's cooking?

The political opposition in the Philippines is cracking up. All sorts of types want to get on board on the sole qualification of being an avid Arroyo badmouther. Such a qualification lacks any real moral and political appeal to people, including those in the opposition itself.

Hence it comes as no surprise that the political opposition is cracking up. What is surprising is that the administration is also doing its darnedest best to arrive at the same eventuality by also waltzing will all sorts of types.

Take it from Mike Defensor, the irrepressible Malacañang chief of staff whose passion to open his mouth is matched only by his zeal to become a senator. Defensor has let the cat out of the bag, dropping names of who the administration is considering for its lineup.

Three items on the menu alone already make the entire course disgusting, to say the least. According to Defensor, three who " might " make it to the administration senatorial slate are Tito Sotto, Tessie Aquino Oreta and, hold your breath, Imelda Marcos. Wow!

I trust that most Filipinos here and abroad know who these people are, so I shall refrain from describing them. Suffice it to say that if these three make it to the administration slate, then the senatorial race has suddenly become very wide open.

The game of politics is indeed strange in the Philippines. One would have thought that the opposition was a goner. A single platform of common hatred for Arroyo espoused by the greedy, the ambitious and the perceptibly corrupt is never enough to win votes.

But with the administration matching the opposition stride for stride, the hopes of the opposition have suddenly been revived. Obviously this is not good for the administration. In a head-to-head match, the opposition almost always wins.

This is because even if the administration does manage to win one or two more seats than the opposition, that kind of ratio is in effect an opposition victory, being an erosion of the strength of the administration.

Only a sweep or perhaps a 10-2 outcome, as what Speaker Jose de Venecia is bragging about in the race for the Senate, will make it an administration victory. But short of a clear margin such as that, then the balance of power tilts and the opposition emerges a big gainer.

But a margin such as that is not likely to happen anymore if what Defensor is saying is true. An administration slate that will have Sotto, Oreta and Marcos in it will make it lose its real complexion and will make it no different from the opposition.

Worse, it will turn off a lot of people, including those who have crucially refused to buy the cheap gimmickry of the opposition. These people may not switch, but if they withhold support, then everything that holds the Arroyo administration together so far will collapse.

Of course, at this stage nothing has been finalized. Everything that has been said so far is mostly conjecture. Not until the official slates have been announced and the certificates of candidacy filed will the Filipinos know for sure what is in store for them at the polls.

What is disconcerting, however, is the thought of what impact this political exercise may have on the relatively rosy forecasts that most economic experts have proposed for the country this year.

After quite a while, the indicators point to some kind of recovery, no matter how modest. And that is something that we ought to seize, not squander. But knowing the passion of Filipinos for politics, and how easily we forget or get distracted, the situation is scary indeed.