2022 ELECTIONS SPECIAL REPORT
With the politicians’ mecca to Davao City, home of a speculated presidentiable, and a considerable amount of airtime for political news, it’s time to face the truth: the election period has begun.
The official campaign period for national positions begins February 2021, as per the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), but politicians are beginning to make known their presence thru various publicity stunts. And they do it confidently as COMELEC admitted they’re ‘toothless,’ unless legislation granting them enforcement powers is passed.
“Premature campaigning loopholes are really a tough one to plug,” Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon said in response to a query from COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez. “Realistically, any legislation to be pushed now will not have enough time to make it in time for the 2022 elections.”
That’s why tarpaulins of Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte towering over cars in the streets, or signature campaigns urging her to run, or commercial spots of Former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano giving advisory messages are all unsanctioned – and thus, lawful.
So, without a doubt, it’s that time again when candidates beg for voters’ support by doing anything literally, even if it means setting aside their morality and ethics.
The trend right now is a push for the continuity of President Rodrigo Duterte’s policies. And that means campaigning for an ally directly connected to him, either by kinship or by party. As per a Pulse Asia survey released in February, his daughter remains the top preference for voters, but she faces stiff competition.
On Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque laid bare the president’s bets to be his successor, including his daughter, former senator Bongbong Marcos, his ex-aide Sen. Bong Go, his party’s acting president Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Manila mayor Isko Moreno.
“Let’s just say that madaming options na nabanggit na ang Presidente,” Mr. Roque said.
But the prospects of Mrs. Duterte gunning for the presidency remain ambiguous: “Ang sinabi po niya hindi pa rin po tatakbo si Mayor Inday Sara. At ang rekomendasyon po niya ay huwag siyang tumakbo. So, that’s the latest I heard from the President’s own mouth,” he said.
Allies are convincing the presidential daughter to file a candidacy come October, but the ruling PDP-Laban is unsure if they will support her in next year’s polls. They prefer a standard-bearer who is one of their own.
“Although no one has announced a plan to run, if PDP-Laban fields a candidate, the standard-bearer should belong to PDP-Laban,” Ronwald Munsayac, the ruling party’s interim executive director, said. “Our advice to our members is: If we have a strong candidate from our party, why should we support a candidate from outside the party?”
Mrs. Duterte has established her own party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), in 2019, fielding guest candidates where a majority secured seats in the Senate. Nonetheless, it remains to be an ally of PDP-Laban.
Meanwhile, the opposition, through the coalition 1Sambayan, will release its nominees on Independence Day.
“June 12, yes, Independence Day, a day we start to regain back the country our freedom and democracy and unite as one people for the good of all,” convenor Howard Calleja said.
With just over 330 days left before the polls are open, the punches and counterpunches are beginning to land. It is an inevitable squabble between presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls determined to capture the nation’s heart and imagination.
The coalition aims to campaign a single slate of candidates running against the administration. In the 2019 midterms, the opposition was nearly swept out of office, with no senatorial bets landing in the Magic 12. Incumbent Bam Aquino only reached the 14th spot, whereas 2004 topnotcher Mar Roxas ended up in 16th place.
Vice President Leni Robredo is being courted to take a shot at the nation’s highest office, but she also remains undecided on what position to run.
“I’m a very new politician. I belong to a party, which you know, after the 2016 elections, was almost decimated to the ground. Meaning to say, there’s been a lot of migration between and among parties,” she said. “So, my sense is that whatever will be good – or whatever will be required to unite the opposition – whether the candidate is myself or some other person, that will, you know, that is the subject of many discussions of several groups now.”
Wherever path she’s destined for, she urged the opposition to name a single candidate for the presidency to avoid splitting the vote.
But if the vice president will aim a lower position in next year’s polls, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said he is ready to step up. In May, he divulged that Mrs. Robredo would run for Camarines Sur’s governorship, to which her camp denied.
“In view of VP Leni’s preparations to run for Governor of Camarines Sur in 2022, I, together with the Magdalo group, have decided to convey to the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition to change my status from being an alternate candidate (to VP Leni) to being a principal candidate for President to vie for the Coalition’s nomination,” he said in a formal announcement.
The opposition will have to go through enormous challenges to surpass, or even just level with, the administration’s popularity. In an opinion piece, a political scientist suggested that they should not coalesce with Robredo – an ‘unwinnable candidate’ – and instead look for new members who may salvage their brand.
“One with political savvy would have known that the most urgent move was to look for new recruits into its ranks, decimated by migration by political butterflies toward the supermajority and further diminished by a crushing defeat in the 2019 midterm elections. After all, politics is addition, and elections are won by numbers, and these numbers can only be generated if there are winnable candidates,” Antonio Contreras of De La Salle University wrote for The Manila Times.
He added, “But instead of recruiting winnable candidates, the political opposition stuck to the usual and the convenient. Instead of looking for new blood to groom, and around which to rally its troops, the opposition stuck with Robredo. And instead of being inclusive and trying to expand its ranks, it even became more exclusive and elitist in its orientation, forever sticking to the purist, moralistic and sanctimonious stance of limiting its ranks only to those they label as bona fide oppositionists.”
With just over 330 days left before the polls are open, the punches and counterpunches are beginning to land. It is an inevitable squabble between presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls determined to capture the nation’s heart and imagination.
They are tasked to convince the electorate that they can confront the raging health and economic crises the country is facing. But more than the pandemic, they must also prove they can confront other issues aggravating the populace for years. Also in the bag are the skeletons in their closet that may disrupt their candidacies.
In the end, whoever prevails must remember that politicking comes with a price, and leadership is rewarded with fervent trust and support. Promises are not mere words that voters easily forget. Filipinos hold unto them in the hopes that their lives will be much better in this great country of ours.
So, with less than a year away, candidates have the opportunity to become rockstars in their own rights. The question is whether we, the deciders, will be fooled by campaign jingles and popularity, or will we step up and choose a leader who exemplifies honesty and integrity.
It’s up to us what kind of Philippines we want for 2022 and beyond – and the vetting process has already begun.
Featured image from Philippine News Agency.
The Edj View 