Politics without principles, parties sans ideology

Every sound political action should be based on a distinct principle. Every political party should be based on explicit philosophies. Without principles and philosophies, a group of politicians would be nothing but a gang or a cartel for ambitions less noble than public service. Most probably they are just in there for the money, for the power, and for the glory. But who are we to judge?

When Don Sergio Osmeña of Cebu and Don Manuel Quezon of Baler founded in 1907 the Nacionalista Party, the oldest political party in the Philippines and in the whole Southeast Asia, they were very explicit that the principles and ideology of the party are conservatism, nationalism, and populism. This party stood on the principle that the Philippines is for the Filipinos, and that there should be protection of Philippine natural resources and preference for Filipino labor and products. Its slogan is "Ang bayan, higit sa lahat" or "The nation above all”. Today, the NP is headed by Cynthia Villar, and its headquarters is inside the Villar property.

When Don Manuel A. Roxas, then Senate president, lost to Don Sergio in the Nacionalista Party convention, he bolted the NP and founded the Liberal Party, with the then Senate president pro tempore Elpidio Quirino on January 19, 1946. The LP is founded on the ideology of liberalism and social liberalism. This is the party that wants to open the country to more and more foreign investors. This is also the country that facilitated the entry of the US bases and the parity rights which allowed the Americans to use all our natural resources, including mining, forests, and our marine wealth and maritime territories. Today the LP is in the hands of Kiko Pangilinan, Leni Robredo, Frank Drilon, and Mar Roxas. Its headquarters is in the Araneta property of Mar's mother.

The NP is the country of presidents Quezon, Osmeña, Magsaysay, Garcia, and Marcos. The LP was the party of Roxas, Quirino, and Macapagal. Former NPs who shifted to LP were Roxas and Quirino. Former LPs who transferred to NP were Magsaysay and Marcos himself. Today, we have a rainbow of all kinds of parties, with no clear ideologies, no identifiable principles, and all based on personalities and political convenience. There is Nationalist Peoples' Coalition, with no palpable evidence of nationalism. There is Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats, with no more lakas and no Muslim. And PDP-Laban, which is all labanan. It is the only party in power which cannot even put up a candidate for president.

Then, there is UNA of Jojo Binay, PMP of Erap, and a host of other alliances and coalitions with no clear principle and philosophy. In Cebu, we have local parties like One Cebu, Barug, Kusug, Bakud, Promdi, and of course, the Osmeñas' BOPK. Partido Barug, with acting mayor Mike Rama, used to be affiliated with UNA and then PDP-Laban. One Cebu, the party of the Garcia family, was affiliated with PDP-Laban in 2017 and earlier with UNA from 2012. If you ask the local politicians what their party principles are, what their ideologies are, you won't get a clear answer.

This is the reason why we do not have a stable democracy. We have petty demagogues, claiming to lead us, who are all motivated by sheer greed for power, prestige, and money. Principles, philosophies and ideologies to them are immaterial, impertinent and irrelevant. All they need are political vehicles with which to assure their electoral victory. I am very sad for our country and people. It is time for the people to claim back the sovereign power which, in the first place, should reside in them. If not now, when? If not the people, who?