The Philippines, May 13, 2013 Local and Senatorial Election. Some of the prominent political issues are: corruption, political dynasty, RH-Law, vote buying, PCOS machine and automated election, survey, political jump-start, family, love, etc..
Corruption. “No Corrupt, No Poor”( President
P-Noy slogan during his Presidential bid). Three years after he became
President, The Philippines remains the same, the poor are poor as before and the government is still run
mostly by the same breed of corrupt politicians. The controversial issues that
rocks the House of Senators few months ago before the election sealed the
perception of many Filipinos that The Upper House is a corrupt institution.
And because of that, again, in the eyes of the people the senators are corrupt group of people. For that reason, the rivals
for the number one senatorial slot (Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, Allan Peter Cayetano) are
incumbent corruption tainted senators compared to Grace Poe who can still be considered a saint untouched by
the evils of politics. The recent corruption issue against Senator Legarda, a
week or two before the election; and her subsequent downhill glide from number
one to number two rank is a proof that many Pinoys are tired and weary of
corruption.
Political Dynasty. Two of the leading upstarts
including Grace Poe cannot be accuse of being a member of a political clan. Unlike the other leading senatoriables: Nancy Binay, Cynthia Villar, Bam
Aquino, Allan Cayetano, Sonny Angara, and Jayvee Estrada, who are political
oligarch. As far as I know, aside from her late father who ran (and lost) for
Presidency, Grace Poe is the only politician in her family. The Philippines
politics is very corrupt, and basically, political dynasty is based on greed.
But in a Democratic system the will of the people prevails. The best way for an
aspiring politician to learn politics is to learn it directly from another politician,
who can be a that politician's father, grandfather, mother, sister, or brother. Some
political wannabes, being born in a family of political dynasty, are luckier
than others.They deserve what they deserve; as the voters deserve the candidate
whom they voted for.
The RH Bill is a ghost that forever will haunt
the pro RH candidates. The Anti-RH Catholic vote effect was not visible and was not as devastating as what
some sectors presumed it would be. Nevertheless, it has an effect, specially to
a candidate that aspires for absolute power that starts from being number one.
A late political post from Facebook showed that Grace Poe was pro RH; however,
she was not as visible as the other three leading candidates who were already
marked by the anti RH voters ever-since the senatorial race starts. Vote is
sacred, and she was already chosen. Definitely, it is not easy to erase a name that was already engraved in one’s
heart. In the most debated issue of RH bill, Grace Poe was not as visible
as her two rivals who are both incumbent senators that voted for RH Bill's
approval.
The Legacy: Like wealth, political power is
genetic and can be acquired through inheritance. The Aquinos, The Estradas,
The Binays, The Marcoses are testimonies of such maxim. In the case of the Marcoses,
with the subtle injection and existence of “Marcos Fear”, legacy can be more of
a curse than a blessing. This is Grace Poe’s edge, this is where her power
lies. In this corner Legarda was beaten badly. She has no political
inheritance to rely on, unlike Miss Poe, who, being a daughter of a King, is a
Princess.
What is in Grace Poe’s personality that
propelled her to beat everyone (including two Presidentiables) in senatorial
race?
Personality: looks, character,
traits, speech, gestures, behavior, mindset: characteristics
that make a person socially and politically appealing. Good looking (pleasing to the eye) compared to traditional politicians, she is young, simple, gentle,
soft spoken and humble. These are
but some of Miss Poe’s winsome attributes. Compared to Miss Legarda’s imposing
beauty and authority, Miss Poe is simply attractive. Her presence alone
commands respect. Her appearance is so commanding that her pro RH stance did
not stop me from picking her to be one of my chosen twelve. Like one of the
Aquino sisters, hers is a combination of elegance and simplicity. Majority of
voters in this third world country The Philippines are poor, lowly, simple,
forcibly humble. Half of the voters are women who at times might would dream of
sophistication; but, I am certain that at any given time, it would not take
much effort for Filipino women to add on their voter’s list a simple candidate
that identifies with what they are.
Intelligence: Unlike Nancy Binay who was accused of evading debate, Miss
Poe joined the post election debates. By doing so, she must have won the
approval of the intellectuals and of voters who are attracted to intelligent
candidates. Seemingly, Filipino voters are into intelligence regardless of what
kind of intelligence a candidate has; after all, senatorial seats is about legislation
and mental skirmish. Majority of the Filipinos are personality based voters,
who are more concern on what they believed in than the merits of the issue at
hand. For majority of them, a candidate is fine as long as she or he can at
least grasp the issue, articulate a little, make them laugh, carry a tune, and
dance.
Experience, competence, track record: MTRCB, Media Television and Radio Classification Board, is one of the Philippine government’s most controversial
branch. It deals with artists, actors, writers producers, directors , media out
fit , and other personalities that are not easy to deal with. Clearly, Miss Poe
handles them gently, sparingly, and decisively with grace. Her position as Chairman of the Board was a short stint, three
years may not be enough to base a track record. But it was enough for the
populace to consider it as a track of competence. For them, it was not a screen
test, but more on a final approval to play the lead role in a national
political movie scene.
LOVE AND POLITICS. Controversy could make and unmake a candidate. As what the result had shown,
both Legarda and Escudero’s post election controversy definitely had unmade
them. Undeniably, a great number of voters doesn’t want controversial candidates on their list. Escudero
suffers much with controversy. His slide to number four slot is a proof that a personal
quota of happiness do exist. He should have known (as experience taught him)
that love and politics don't happily go hand and hand. Unlike love, politics is corrupt, and a man can only serve one
master at a time. But I wonder if Senator Chiz is more concern about being a number
one senator than being number one in a woman’s heart.
Political Marriage of Convenience As politics has a funny, corny, and
erroneous way of forming a romance, it also has a way of destroying a
relationship. Political Marriage of Convenience
romance is one of the saddest TV scenes that I have ever seen. It has many
forms and many mask. Some politicians need not change because they are
inherently corrupt. But I can’t help
myself to ask, in what way and for how long would a gentle lady senator
maintains her simplicity and composure in a dirty and unholy field? The answer
my friend might still would be “blowing in the wind”. And to find the answer, we
should watch, ask, and learn from “the fresh air” that passes through the atmosphere that stinks.
Family and Filipino values: Only in the Philippines (I believe)
was a word (PO) that denotes respect, as only in the Philippines the youngsters
kiss the hands of their elders to show respect. The word “PO” is one of the
first word that the Filipino child learn from their parents. When they grow
older, the word reminds them to show respect and to be humble. The Philippines,
as what our telenovelas showed, is a family oriented country. (At least that is
what majority of the Filipinos are wanting to believe). When the think tank
campaign managers of Grace Poe injected the slogan PO in their ads, they paid
tribute and respect to Grace Poe’s’ father, “The King” of Philippine cinema,
the late Fernando Poe Jr, the on-screen champion of Filipino family. When the
clear but subtle message reaches the hearts and minds of the voters, the unexpected occurred; it swayed the political tide, defied the ratings and statistics,
created a sensation, and implanted an electoral milestone.
DOUBTS AND DREAMS. I don’t trust myself and I was
taught not to trust anyone; particularly the politicians and the women, for the
simple reason that both of them wanted to win my trust. But I have some un-answered questions that
tickle my doubt on the purity of her reason to run. And two of those questions
are: How she spearheaded to number one slot despite of political party
independence? Political events convinced me that only the insane and corrupt,
the inborn political animals, and the pure at heart (?) has the right and the
guts to enter the rotten field of Philippine politics. But I believe in Destiny; who, undoubtedly, is an Amazing Scriptwriter. Fruits
taste best when picked in god’s-time; and as Providence, in the form of Time,
promised, “ Vengeance is Mine”. Was she a vindication to somehow correct a political
misdeed? Or, as an old woman insinuated, was her sensational victory has
something to do with poetic justice to answer a decades-old un-answered
question that would bring to rest a restless soul of an unburied skeleton of
the past.
