The only thing

A mayor seeking another term has started cultivating what he hopes will be sure votes on election day — by giving voters, through his political leaders at the grassroots, a few hundred pesos each regularly.

Elsewhere, a mayor has promised to fully bankroll the campaigns of several candidates for lower local positions, on one condition: if he is reelected, he will enjoy full discretion in awarding all government contracts in the city.

Such arrangements are, of course, on top of the more common understanding between candidates and their major campaign donors, that big prizes await those who place their bets on the right horse.

In many parts of the country, similar arrangements are being pursued, planting the seeds of sweetheart deals. Corruption arising from cronyism afflicts all levels of government, and the cronyism is often sealed during campaigns.

There’s nothing new in the election wheeling and dealing, which starts long before the official campaign period opens. As Juan Ponce Enrile said in explaining his conversion of Senate savings into Christmas “lambing” for his colleagues (except four), he’s just carrying on tradition. (Not true, according to former Senate chief Ernesto Maceda, who says the chamber’s yearend savings used to go to employees, not senators, with the change happening only under Enrile’s watch. Oh well, JPE also got his story muddled on his pre-martial law ambush.)

If the tradition is bad, why does it have to be perpetuated?

The administration of daang matuwid keeps telling the world that a new team is in charge and it’s no longer business as usual in the Philippines. The way the 2013 race is shaping up, however, the midterm elections will send the strongest message that change in this country, like the administration of justice, moves at glacial pace.

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President Aquino probably believes (with good reason) that the midterm elections will be a referendum on his administration. The poll outcome will also give an indication of the strength of his endorsement in the general elections in 2016, and consequently the sustainability of his reforms.

So the first order of business is to win, and win big, in 2013. From the Senate to the House of Representatives to local governments, the ruling coalition needs to win.

And so the administration gives us… what else but overwhelmingly more of the same faces and surnames, including a loony believed to still have inherited wealth. Even the two political neophytes in the coalition, Grace Poe Llamanzares and Bam Aquino, are being propelled by famous surnames.

I guess P-Noy doesn’t want to take chances on complete unknowns. There may be some competent, decent individuals on the slate, but the same can be said of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), and the field of independents and candidates belonging to smaller organizations.

Pinoys traditionally don’t vote along party lines, even for president and vice president. I’m sure it won’t be any different in picking 12 senators, a congressman, party-list representative and local officials.

We can’t verify if vote buying works. But when all the choices are underwhelming, voters will probably go for the lesser evil – the one they know, or the one who gives them a regular stipend.

In the case of dynasties, politicians tell us that if their performance does not impress their constituents, they cannot perpetuate a dynasty. To a certain extent, this is a correct reading of Pinoy realpolitik. Voters like it when their roads are clean, well lit and do not melt in the rain; when garbage is properly collected; and when public health care and education are relatively adequate. They will then keep voting members of the same family into office.

In several areas, however, dynasties can be perpetuated through armed intimidation and outright murder. Such dynasties can also be perpetuated through cheating in elections.

P-Noy could have set the example, the way he did by eschewing wang-wang at the start of his term, by putting his foot down and telling his relatives not to run in May. The gesture would have been much appreciated especially in this election where dynasty-building has reached shameless proportions, with families wanting to install every able-bodied member simultaneously in the Senate and to occupy every possible elective position in their jurisdiction.

Instead the President has a cousin bearing his name, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, in Team PNoy, and an aunt in the opposition team, both of whom are seeking a Senate seat. It doesn’t help that when asked about the dynasty issue during a recent public forum, one of the relatives snapped that the Philippines owes democracy to the President’s clan.

Pinoys want continuity of reforms, not the bloodline. But you can’t choose your relatives. I guess it’s easier for P-Noy to give orders to Cabinet members than to his own kin.

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Obviously a key issue for P-Noy is the pursuit of his reform agenda in the second half of his term. It is easier when allies are installed in Congress and dominate local politics.

As the first half is showing, however, a popular, credible president can make even the opposition support his programs. P-Noy could have made bolder choices in fielding his team for May.

But you can see he also has his mind on succession in 2016. The Liberal Party (LP) wants one of its own to win Malacañang in 2016, and UNA surely isn’t going to support that candidate.

UNA will support P-Noy’s policies, but the 2016 race is when the coalition headed by Vice President Jejomar Binay will become a full-fledged opposition group.

The prelude to the 2016 race is the election in May. For all the contenders, Team PNoy included, winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing.