Have you heard of Alexander Alimmudin “Aldin” Ali? Neither have I. Until I interviewed him the other day for TV5’s “Aplikante” together with host Luchi Cruz-Valdes and Bloomberg TV’s Tony Abad.
Aldin Ali is the son of Sanchez Ali, former Philippine ambassador to Oman and founder of the United Muslim Democrats of the Philippines, which coalesced with the National Union of Christian Democrats when it was headed by former senator Raul Manglapus.
The younger Ali, 36, launched a movement last year called the Bagong Sistema, Bagong Pag-asa (New System, New Hope). He is one of just two candidates allowed by the Commission on Elections to run for senator under the party of the late ambassador Roy Señeres.
A Maranaw who’s Manila-born and bred, Aldin Ali has so far barnstormed only in Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog. Next week, he intends to visit his father’s home province of Lanao del Norte, but obviously he doesn’t have the resources to visit much of the country. Ali’s movement, which he says has some 1,000 volunteers, does not engage in fund-raising.
In the March 15-20 Pulse Asia survey, Ali was ranked in the 31-44 bracket. Presenting himself as an everyman who understands first-hand the travails of commuters, aspiring entrepreneurs and other ordinary folk, Ali acknowledges that poll victory for him is a long shot. But he considers it a steppingstone; he’s hoping that his first attempt will give him some name recall when he tries again in future elections.
There are several like Ali among the 50 aspirants for 12 Senate seats. Some are just slightly better known. Ali is one of just five Muslims running for the Senate, but I don’ think there is a Maranaw vote that might carry him to victory.
To boost their chances, several senators seeking reelection are holding probe after congressional probe, even if there is zero chance of any piece of legislation being passed within what’s left of the life of the 16th Congress, and even if the proper agencies are already conducting their own investigation.
Ali and the little known candidates don’t stand a chance against such bets and other established names. Several of the unknowns could be more deserving of a Senate seat than some of the clowns now assured of winning (at least according to the surveys), but the unknowns won’t make it, even with occasional TV interviews and newspaper write-ups.
We all bear part of the blame. We should be trying to get to know candidates better. But our more common attitude, when confronted with a political unknown, is not “tell me why you deserve to win,” but “the nerve; who do you think you are?”
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I told Ali to present a point-by-point explanation of why he’d make a better senator than, say, Tito Sotto or Manny Pacquiao. But most voters aren’t interested in such arguments. They think anyone who’s good enough to appear regularly in “AlDub” or smash someone’s face for money is good enough for lawmaking.
Ali is espousing federalism and scrapping of contractualization, although he needs a clearer legislative agenda. But even a candidate with specific plans about what laws he intends to pursue – Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III – is not assured of entering the Magic 12.
It remains to be seen whether the ongoing probe by the Blue Ribbon committee led by Guingona on the $81-million bank heist will boost his ratings. Going by the surveys, Senate inquiries have not helped the vice presidential bids of Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV.
They might be comforted by the thought that with too many surveys coming out several times a week, with different results, survey credibility is being eroded and candidates can argue that in reality, everyone has a fighting chance.
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Guingona and Ali are batting for Charter change and a shift to a unicameral parliamentary system, which they think is more stable than the current one, and under which campaigning is simpler and cheaper.
Politicians themselves should want to make campaigning reasonably affordable. They should support a shorter campaign period and the strict enforcement of common display areas for campaign materials.
A cheaper campaign makes candidates beholden to fewer people and interest groups. In the current campaign, even candidates claiming to be anti-corruption champions are supported by shady characters and special interest groups that are certain to demand a return on their investments if their bets win.
For our part, we should be open to proposals for a state subsidy to finance election campaigns. But this will probably be more acceptable in a two-party system where parties actually take specific stands on issues.
Lawmakers have the power to change the system. Campaign finance and other electoral reforms have been proposed for many years now, which can make the system cheaper, transparent and relatively clean, and which can level the playing field for qualified unknowns.
Why lawmakers have brushed aside the proposals is anybody’s guess. Until the reforms are passed, we can expect no end to clowns in the Senate.
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BUYER BEWARE: Even chocolates are being stolen these days. A woman claiming to be the purchase officer for The Designer Boulanger Philippines Corp., which brought Eric Kayser Boulanger to the country, among others, ordered 15 boxes (1.5 kilos each) of Callebaut baking chocolate sticks from a retailer last week, paying P5,000 as down payment and promising to settle the rest this week. The woman’s cell phone has since been disabled and all emails in response to the purchase order have bounced. If you’re eating anything with chocolate sticks, better check the source or you might get a stomachache. You get all types of lowlifes in this country.