“Because of the lack of information about the candidates, the usual picks are limited to those who have the money to buy an election.”
by Ducky Paredes
In that United States presidential election last November 4, 2008, their 56th consecutive quadrennial presidential election, there were actually six aspirants for the office.
Those on the ballot in most States in the USA were the Republican Party’s nominee was John McCain; the Democratic Party’s Barack Obama; the Libertarian Party’s Bob Barr, a former congressman; the Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin, a pastor and talk show host; the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney, a former congresswoman; and, running as an independent Ralph Nader.
What made it easy for the American voter to limit his choice to either McCain or Obama was that not all of the other candidates were on every state’s ballot. Thus, it was very much a foregone conclusion that the choice would be either McCain or Obama.
In the Philippines, what limits the choice of the voters is the lack of information about the candidates. Most voters do not know what they are getting when they vote in a famous person who is known to them – as a movie character, a singer, an athlete or other, non-political persona. This is not surprising because what they vote for is the public persona of the person as say a bida in all his movies for the actor or the glamorized unreal portrait of a singer.
Because of the lack of information about the candidates, the usual picks are limited to those who have the money to buy an election and those who, for some reason (mostly the wrong ones) or another, are known to the voter.
Makati Mayor and United Opposition (UNO) president Jojo Binay announced on his 60th birthday his acceptance of “the call for him to run as president in the 2010 national elections.” The announcement was made at a rally attended by 30,000 cheering supporters gathered on the football field of the new University of Makati.
“In accepting this challenge, I commit myself to lead all Filipinos, but especially those who have known nothing but hardships and suffering, out of this dark period of economic and social troubles, to a new era of change, hope and prosperity for all,” Binay proclaimed in his speech.
Jojo Binay is a lawyer who took on the Martial Law regime by providing free legal assistance to a lot of the victims of the dictatorship. Although he became mayor by appointment of the revolutionary government that succeeded the dictatorship, Jojo has turned out to be a good administrator. Makati’s citizens – both the extremely wealthy and the destitute and those in between – have available to them services superior to any other local government in the country.
One can argue that Makati also happens to be the richest LGU in the country; still, the services available to the Makati resident are heads and shoulders above that which residents of even other equally rich LGUs receive. The greatest argument for Binay is that he will do for the rest of the country what he did for his LGU.
Mel Adriano, national president of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity, the largest in the country and of which Binay is a distinguished member, read out an impassioned manifesto calling on Binay to run for president in 2010.
Simultaneous motorcades and rallies echoing the call for Binay’s 2010 candidacy were also held in other key cities and regions around the country, led by the group BRODDS (Band of Brothers and Sisters in Service), a volunteer organization pushing for social and political action through citizens’ service.
Binay’s candidacy is anchored on a 12-point program that directly addresses pressing social, economic, and political issues through a harmonious partnership between the government and the private sector, similar to that which he adopted during his 15-year tenure as Makati’s top local executive and signaled the city’s rise as the country’s commercial and financial capital.
The 30,000-strong throng in Makati calling for Binay’s candidacy was led by the local BRODDS contingent, and included representatives from JOJO (Jobs, Opportunities, Justice, Order), the Senior Citizens League for Binay, the Makati NGO KASANIB, and thousands of Makati residents in all-out show of support for their mayor.
Binay’s presence was likewise felt at a rally in Jolo, where he hopes to bring his message of peace and hope to one of the country’s most strife-torn areas and where his adherents also announced his availability.
In Cebu, the BRODDS contingent opted to fly “Binay kites” at the Mactan reclamation site in support of Binay’s candidacy, after the local government refused to grant them a permit for a rally.
In Jaro, Iloilo, the pro-Binay motorcade and rally was led by Binay’s brothers from the APO (Alpha Phi Omega) fraternity, who concluded the day’s activities by participating in the construction of the Gawad Kalinga’s Jaro City project, to underscore Binay’s commitment to provide housing for the poor.
Following their march, rally and reading of a manifesto calling on Mayor Binay to run for president, the BRODDS group in Baguio City spearheaded a clean-up activity of Session Road and Burnham Park to highlight Binay’s own crusade towards preserving order, cleanliness and the environment.
Simultaneous rallies were also held in Naga City and the Bicol region, Davao City, and Zamboanga City.
Does someone who can organize on so massively nationwide a scale have a chance at being elected president? If, as in the US, we had only two major parties, definitely! In our country’s undisciplined multi-party, undisciplined chaos system, guns, goons and gold for a candidate with nationwide popularity may still be the way to go.
For a local official to make it to the presidency, some sort of miracle has to happen. Would that someone can pull it off; God knows that we need someone competent to run this country as President. At least an LGU mayor or governor has the experience to do this.
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Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda believes that he financial breakdown in the US and Europe cannot happen here:
‘’A range of indicators also point to a healthier corporate sector in Asia. The result is that a full-fledged financial crisis in the region is unlikely.’’ But, the economic impact of the global crisis will result in a decline by 1.5 percentage points from a record 9.0 percent growth in 2007 plus “a further 0.5 or 1.0 percent deceleration next year.
‘’Initially we thought developing Asia could grow by 7.2 percent (in 2009), but now that is unlikely.’’
So, why is our President pushing for an Asian bailout fund? Just plain gaya-gaya, puto maya?
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hvp 11.13.08)
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