Quality crisis: First education, now politics

Judging by the coalitions and partnerships of different parties going into the 2013 midterm elections, as well as the different lineups formed out of such political marriages, it is clear the coming exercise is in preparation for the much bigger presidential battle in 2016.

On the surface, it would seem that none of the parties involved has the manpower to fill up its own Senate slates, prompting it to form a tactical alliance with other, similarly situated parties.

That, of course, is not true. In a country that eats politics for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is next to impossible to be at a loss for manpower. The truth is, there are simply too many wannabes to fill a hundred slates.

What happened, however, is that as it is in education, so it is now in politics — there is a marked decrease in quality. If President Aquino is any indication, so there. There is simply too few in the talent pool to tap. Wannabe numbers just do not translate into dependable skills.

And so, each party being unable to fill a complete slate of dependable foot soldiers who are expected to help turn the tide in favor of their presidential candidates in the real battle that is 2016, making do became the name of the game.

Each party needs to come up with winners, sure occupants of Senate seats. And if it can’t scrounge enough winners, as differentiated from the simply over-ambitious wannabes from within its own ranks, then “importing” other winners from other parties will suffice.

Having and helping these winners places each party in a position to ask for payback some time later, as 2016 draws near. Of course, that some of these winners are guest candidates with other parties can complicate things when payback time is nigh.

But as politicians love to put it, they will cross the bridge when they get there. The first order of the day is still to get as many winners into the Senate, and if it means helping those from other parties, so be it. Not even politics can wipe gratitude off the face of earth.

To be sure, all the political parties, if only they can help it, would have wanted things differently. But then again, the quality of the talent pool in Philippine politics has simply nosedived.

The last batches of senators who really mattered were those that included the fathers of some of today’s politicians — Ninoy Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos, Gerry Roxas, Serging Osmeña. In those batches were also the likes of Jovito Salonga, Jose Diokno, Arturo Tolentino.

There were also Lorenzo Tanada, Jose Roy, Gil Puyat, Lorenzo Sumulong, Eva Estrada Kalaw, Helena Benitez. Many others from that era simply escapes memory now. But they all belonged to a time when, to be elected to the Senate means you got what it takes.

From such a rich and venerable talent pool could be a future president without questions asked with regard to capability and genius. Unfortunately, and quite ironically, it was from the same talent pool that came the man responsible for changing the makeup of Philippine politics.

When Marcos became president, he introduced a new system of patronage that spelled the demise of talent. It no longer mattered if someone was capable, for as long as he or she was a close and favored one.

It was all downhill from there. Into the veritable Senate marched a new parade. To be sure, there are still a few exceptions here and there — Juan Ponce Enrile, Miriam Defensor Santiago, senators who really got what it takes to be one. Oh well.

And that is why we have reached this point, where parties have to scrounge around if they are to remain relatively credible and relevant. But unless the trend is arrested, even parties will eventually fade into the sunset.