In this fifth and last installment of Davao Today’s series of Q&As on next week’s elections, Bobby Tuazon, a political analyst at the Center for People Empowerment in Government (CenPEG), points out the deterioration of the Philippine political system and why this election is not going to change that.
What is at stake in this election?
There are two things which, I believe, are at stake: First, is the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Mrs. Arroyo’s forces are all out to prevent a third impeachment to be filed against her in Congress and hence, they will try every means to win more seats in the House of Representatives. Second, and quite related to the first, is the future of the party-list system. Compared to the first three elections that included the party-list system (i.e., 1998, 2001, and 2004), I think this one is the most brazen in terms of attempts by Malaca?ang to field and finance party-list groups that will ensure the domination of the House by pro-Arroyo forces. Attempts are also being made to marginalize the progressive party-list bloc composed of Bayan Muna and its affiliated Party-list groups through harassment, vilification and trending.
Some say the Arroyo administration is determined to dominate the elections to head off another possible impeachment and political turbulence. Any thoughts on this?
I agree and I think this is already partly covered by my No. 1 answer. But instead of heading off another “political turbulence,” they are in fact creating the conditions for a bigger political storm. All groups and candidates, particularly those from the party-list bloc and the anti-Arroyo opposition, will not take this subversion of the people’s will sitting down. I foresee a political unrest bigger and more thunderous than what we saw in 2005-2006.
There is also the sense that local political groups or politicians are exploiting the administration’s desperation. They do this by getting political concessions from the administration which they would then use to beef up their own political domains. Any thoughts?
Anything goes in any election. If all these will ensure their victory in the elections, they will resort to any means, including the use of violence. This is one election characterized by the 4Gs ? guns, goons, gold and Garci.
What are the issues do you think should be on the table during the campaign but are not being discussed?
The electoral system in the Philippines continues to deteriorate ever since the Third Republic was born in 1946. Politicians, especially those of the traditional mold and family dynasties, continue to manipulate the elections by capitalizing on the so-called “name recall” and other popularity measures. The oligopolistic media is not helping any by allowing themselves to be tapped for the politicians’ advertisement requirements, favorable news reports and encouraging many reporters to be on the take. They refuse to believe that more and more people are clamoring for debates on issues that matter to them and that they actually look for candidates who really matter to their collective lives. So, except for a few well-meaning Party-list groups and a few candidates for Congress, the whole electoral exercise is tragic, to say the least, and is expected to contribute to the growing cynicism and apathy.
What do you think is the administration’s strongest points, and the opposition’s?
The anti-Arroyo opposition’s strong point is its seeming confidence that you don’t really need showbiz personalities to make you win in an election. People can bet on some of their candidates’ consistency and appeal to the masses. The administration senatorial ticket? It is confusing, is composed of mixed personalities and backgrounds, and is not actually a solid ticket, the only saving grace being Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto.
What would swing the polls? The middle class? The Left? The Right?
In any election, it is still of course the mass vote that counts. And of course the command votes of which the Left and probably a few religious groups can mobilize.
Finally, what is your sense of how Filipinos regard or appreciate the elections? Is this something important to them? Do they even care? Or are they jaded?
Most politicians don’t really take the election as a democratic exercise but only as a means of gaining power and accumulating more economic power. More and more Filipinos are becoming aware that their vote is an expression of their sovereign voice. People should begin to realize that the vote is power that is vested on those seeking elective positions. They have the right to remove the power that is vested on politicians when they don’t serve the purpose intended for that vote. They should begin to realize that their vote is a power that they can actually use to disempower a corrupt government and demobilize a corrupt system of political dynasties and bureaucrats. Or to form a government of their own ? whether in an election, or other means.
Actually, in an election that is far from being “fair and democratic,” the actual votes cast don’t count at all. It is how elections are manipulated, the fraud that is committed and the money that actually spell the difference. Elections are just a facade and an embellishment to the manipulations that unscrupulous politicians and the government in power do before, during, and after the polls. (davaotoday.com)
Political analysts Manuel Quezon III, Luis V. Teodoro, Glenda Gloria and Julkipli Wadi answered these same questions in the first , second , third and fourth installments, respectively, of this series.
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