Credibility

This government can get away with many things under our noses but when it comes to risking our lives – the buck stops here!

How can the President be so insensitive to tell the whole nation that what we are going through during this pandemic is a “small thing in our lives?” If he was trying to rally the people to be strong and hopeful, he was clearly misunderstood. We are all going through hell right now. How can he easily utter such a comment without empathizing with the people?

Small thing? He must really be taking this pandemic so lightly. This is probably why the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has had a sharp rise. Imagine while the whole world is enjoying the influx of vaccines we are still begging for more. If we were in an Olympic race we would be the “kulelat” team. After all those midnight meetings and weekly addresses to the nation, what has become of our country? Sanamagan!

At this point, many people are already desperate for better leadership. This government has just had too many inconsistencies and ineffectiveness. Actually, a loss of credibility. The question of the day would be will you vote for this administration to lead us again? Since they started their campaign a few weeks ago, people are starting to think of Election 2022. It’s funny! One day they say this is not the time to talk about elections. The next day the President talks about his ally Bong Go running for president or was he joking? It’s time to go back to the drawing board to deeply think of our future leaders.

Last week, a new coalition of democratic forces representing a broad spectrum of legitimate political persuasions in the Philippines, 1Sambayan, introduced themselves. Their aim is to usher in a competent, trustworthy, administration in the May 2022 national elections. The movement began in September 2020, when economic recession and unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic had set in, the number of infections kept rising, and the incumbent administration had shown itself incapable of a sensible, effective response to the crisis.

The group attracted patriotic personalities who wanted to find a way of restoring good governance to the country. They spoke with government officials, politicians, sectoral group leaders and businessmen, who all agreed that Filipinos deserve a much better leadership than the current one. The next step was to enlist the help of prominent, credible personalities with unquestioned integrity to lead the new group, particularly in its task of nominating prospective national candidates.

First to come to mind was retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, legal luminary and champion in the fight for the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea. He agreed to join the group in a heartbeat, and proposed to make it an inclusive coalition of democratic forces. He said, “The unifying factor among all of these groups is that they believe that we should prevent an authoritarian government from taking hold in the Philippines in the next election.” Carpio has been chosen by the coalition to be 1Sambayan’s chairman. “We have to bring back good governance, respect for human rights, integrity and honesty,” he added.

Who are the personalities who convened this coalition? Aside from Justice Carpio, they are former Ombudsman and Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, former Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro and anti-corruption activist Albert “Paring Bert” Alejo. They represent the democratic forces spanning the Philippine political spectrum – from Bayan Muna on one end, to the Magdalo Group on the other end.

“We have to be united because if the democratic forces will have two or more candidates for president, the anti-democratic forces could win. We believe that we have the majority, but if we are divided, we will be the minority in the election. That’s why we have to be united. It’s very important to have only one candidate so that we can win,” Carpio said.

The question is, how will 1Sambayan find “the one?” Aspirants will be screened for the following criteria: clean track record – the aspirant must be of good moral character and without any history of corruption or malfeasance; upright stand on key issues – the aspirant must be unequivocally opposed to extrajudicial killings, kowtowing to foreign powers, violation of the separation of powers and other principles enshrined in the 1987 Constitution; platforms – the aspirant must have solid, well-informed platforms for addressing the country’s problems and a clear-cut plan on their implementation; and winnability – the aspirant must be fully ready and willing to run for office.

Moreover, the aspirant must have recall among the voting population, the aptitude to campaign and engage with them and the verve to compete with other candidates for the people’s votes. 1Sambayan will also seek the consensus of patriotic, democracy-loving Filipinos in selecting candidates for 2022. The goal is to find the right leaders every Filipino can rally behind and be proud of.

My two cents’ worth: (1) Yes, Justice Carpio is the right man to convene the opposition because of his credibility and clear civil libertarian and nationalist position; (2) the coalition is clear with what it is fighting for; (3) while the Duterte group is trying the ‘Run Sara Run’, they also have the ‘Go Duterte Go’ in case Sara will have a hard time; (4) the opposition does not have a definite candidate yet and it is crucial to identify the person that the coalition and the people will rally behind; (5) at this point, it is important that personal interest of politicians must give way to the greater interest of the Filipino people.

For this coalition to work, let us not forget history’s lessons: During the last two years of martial law, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or Bayan was successfully organized as the broadest coalition against Marcos. All sectors and personalities from left to right of the Philippine political spectrum were present. While the coalition did not last long because the moderate left and most of the politicians split to launch Bandila, Bayan became the coalition with a very strong sectoral representation but very few political personalities. Bandila became the power house with their business and political personalities but thinner sectoral representations. This resulted in the Makati rallies and confetti revolution of Bandila and the Liwasang Bonifacio/Mendiola militant rallies of Bayan. Although there was a clear division within the opposition, the presence of Cory Aquino as the face of the anti-Marcos crusade became clear and united as Cory fought Marcos in an electoral battle.

The launching of 1Sambayan is very timely. The opposition must take action to counter the well-oiled machinery of the ‘Run Sara Run’ or the ‘Go Duterte Go’ movement. The present dispensation failed to stop the drug problem, corruption, human rights violation, extrajudicial killings, rice and food cartels, etc. – most importantly the influx of Chinese POGO operations and the continued occupation of the West Philippine Sea.

We need a new Cory to come. Or at least we must make a new Cory so we can unite the silent and the silenced, the weak, the victims and the marginalized and bring back the dignity and pride of being a Filipino. We must unite and fight for a better Philippines.