Victory for Obama, victory for labor

It was a big win for the working class, the victory of the unions, the immigrants, the senior citizens, the veterans, the women, the youth and the minority, including the African-Americans, the  Hispanics, and, of course, the Asians, among whom are a sizable voting block of Fil-Americans. The States with large Filipino populations, like California, Hawaii, New York and New Jersey, have always voted Democrat because the Filipinos in the US always identify themselves with the working class, to which they really belong. President Barrack Obama has always been and will remain to be the President for labor, as Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, LBJ ( Lyndon B Johnson ) and JFK ( John F Kennedy ). The reelection of President Obama is a good news for our  “kababayans’’ in America. My parents and brothers are US citizens and they won too.

Upon the other hand, the Republicans are always on the side of  the capitalists, that of  the corporate world, of big business. They are against Obama’s pro-labor and pro-people welfare policies and programs, like the Obama Health Care. They oppose the liberalization of migration policies, among others. The Republicans oppose taxes and they are blocking more welfare programs. Thus, in a sense, they are perceived to be anti-people, anti-poor, anti-minorities, anti-immigrants and anti-labor.  The results of the last elections have shown beyond doubt that indeed these sectors voted against the Republicans, much more than they support the Democrats. It was a big negative vote against the moneyed elite. The Americans feared a return to the Bush style of governance.

The contrast between Obama and Romney were clearly defined from the very start of the campaign.

Obama is for choice, that is, women should be given the freedom to choose from among many options that pertain to her private life, short of committing any crime, and that politicians in Washington DC cannot make the decision that a mother should make. Romney stands on the power of government to dictate on women what to do in certain crucial decisions affecting pregnancy, marriage and family relations. Obama stands on protecting jobs at all cost even if it was necessary to bail out endangered industries, like the automotive sector. Romney wants government to leave private enterprises to paddle their own canoes. Thus, both the women and workers’ vote went to the president.

Obama promised to end the war in Iraq and bring home the US troops. He did just that. If it were a Republican in the White House, that would never have happened, for a raging war would be definitely good for American business, especially the manufacturers of war equipments. When New York and New Jersey were devastated by Hurricane Sandy, the President abandoned all his scheduled campaign sorties and went to the victims, condoled the mothers who lost their children, shared with the pains and difficulties of those who lost their homes and other possessions. Romney even used the calamity as an occasion to campaign even more. Thus, even the Republican Governor of New Jersey was very generous in his commendation of the President, virtually endorsing the incumbent.

On the other hand, in the Philippines today, it would appear that there are no clear distinctions between the Administration’s Liberal Party and the pseudo opposition, the UNA. Nonetheless, by the looks of things, it is emerging to be a reality that UNA, with Vice President Binay at the helm is more pro-OFW, pro-poor, pro-labor, especially with President Erap’s image of being the leader of the masses. The Liberal Party looks like the party of the elite, with the President’s identification with the landed Cojuangco family, and with Secretary Mar Roxas’ haciendero and capitalists’ identity of the Roxases and the Aranetas. Jojo Binay may be packaged as the Philippines’ Obama with Erap as his Clinton and Enrile as his Joe Biden. What a perfect combination.

If there is a labor vote in the Philippines, the Presidency would be a walk in the park for Binay. His advocacies, his accomplishments, even his looks, with all due respect, have always been pro-poor and pro-labor. In his position as the over-all czar on labor migration, Vice President Jojo Binay pleaded before foreign governments, for the life of OFWs who were convicted of capital crimes abroad. He gave houses to the homeless in his capacity of being the top honcho at the helm of PAG-IBIG. As leader of the Boys Scout of the Philippines, he endeared himself to teachers, parents and the youth. As a member of APO, Alpha Phi Omega, he has a core of loyal brothers and sisters who are willing to die for him. His sister city connections all over the country was the secret weapon that derailed Mar Roxas’ dream for the Presidency.

And so, come 2016, Obama’s historic victory as the first black American President to have been elected and reelected, may yet be duplicated by our own dark horse (no pun intended), the small but terrific Vice President called JEJOMAR...or Jesus, Joseph and Mary.... . And that will be a major victory for the Filipino working class. Mark my word.