Today’s View: What needs to be done

The tenacious alignment and adherence to a political entity should have been premised on a set of ideals and principles that provide firm basis for the party platform and concrete plans of action. Each of the candidates in such group subscribes to these ideals and principles as his (her) personal commitment and as his (her) standard of conduct in governance. It is the only enduring beacon that the party and its candidate must hold on to in steering their campaign to victory.

By DON PAGUSARA
Davao Today

This early in the electoral season we are already fed with all sorts of gimmickry by the senatorial candidates from the prime political parties, namely the Liberal Party and the United Nationalist Alliance. In fact, they are literally in a mad race and are elbowing each other in the mass media to banner their individual slogans and political jingles in a bid to capture the imagination of the electorate and achieve an effective “name recall.”

On the television screen every so often, we witness the choreographed endorsements by showbiz personalities for any politician. And all this avalanche of propaganda gimmicks never present their Party’s platform; much less discuss vital issues confronting the society.

Where are the platforms of these political parties that have paraded their lineup of aspirants for the top legislative positions in the government? Are the action programs hidden in such vague and abstract phrases as “tuwid na daan,” “gusto ko may pagkain ka,” “giginhawa ang buhay,” “lumalaban sa korapsyon,” and so forth and so on?

Do we have to mine from every candidate’s slogan the whole content of their respective Party platforms?

Oh! And one veteran politico even peddled his humorous synthesizing — “naglibot ako sa buong bayan at nakikita ko ang kahirapan ng taumbayan” (I have gone around the country and seen the people’s hardships).

Who has not seen the people’s suffering?

Every other Filipino had known this even before this particular politico stepped out of his mansion to launch his candidacy for a top national post some years back!

Perhaps, these politicians, like veritable acrobats that keep on swinging from one political aggrupation to another, have long realized the glaring fact that there’s no such thing as “party platform” to speak about in any electoral contest in this country.

Look, isn’t it too easy for any politico to change party affiliation any time? We have lived too long with this obnoxious phenomenon of “turncoatism,” and we call this species of politicos balimbing or kapalmuks, sending them alert signals to behave with honorable decorum as leaders. But to no avail!

Even as their feet tramp dancingly on the ‘stage platform’ as a political party lineup,they do not at all stand on concrete action plans that could have served as their principles for having allied with such political aggrupation. And because there is no party platform to stand on, there is no principled unity among themselves.

Their bond of unity is as fragile as the ties that bind a “bunch of drinking buddies.” As a matter of fact, they are bound together only by their self-serving interest to ride on the dizzying bandwagon popularity of the group. And nothing else. Their togetherness can break apart with the slightest selfish reason.

Not money. Not deceptive sloganeering. Not misleading gimmickry.

By this, an informed and intelligent choice is presented to the electorate — something that should be done with purposeful direction and determination in order for a truly abiding democracy to thrive toward its maturity.

Don Pagusara is a native of Mindanao, a multi-awarded author and a Palanca-awardee.