Demolition job

Tis’ the season to be naughty or nice? Christmas is still around the corner so jolly Old Saint Nicolas is still on his way. But Halloween ain’t over yet so the witches are flying over the Philippine skies with their broomsticks and brewing their potions around town. As the campaign season begins, the air is starting to be filled with “wickedness” in the political arena.

Just before filing the certificates of candidacy many of our public officials faced the painful truths of politics. After working with their friends in government for a long, long time, exchanging favors and giving perks to one another, they realize everything is just a farce and friendships do not last. In politics, it’s temporary. Even after confirmations their allies have turned into foes. Betrayal hit them. Such is the dirty world of politics.

The filing of certificates of candidacy for over 18,000 elective positions for the May 2016 elections is over. There is a record-high of 130 bets running for president, 19 for vice-president and 172 for the senatorial race. COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez calls this a representation of a vibrant democracy, where more people feel empowered to put themselves as candidates. I call this an ultimate mockery of the election process. These numbers and the many nuisance candidates clearly show us that a problem exists with the qualifications and loose requirements we have for filling up the highest position in the land.

Article VII, Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution states: “No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least 40 years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding such election.” Perhaps when we have stricter requirements for the presidential position we will be able to get the right person to lead us.

Out of the 130 candidates for the presidential race, the four leading contenders are Senator Grace Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay, former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. Many are still wishing that Duterte will join later in the game.

As for those running for the vice president position, we have Representative Leni Robredo for Roxas, Senator Gregorio Honasan II for Binay, Senator Francis Escudero for Poe, Senator Bongbong Marcos, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Antonio Trillanes.

All of the above have their personal reasons for running. They all want to hold the highest positions of the land. But look at them now. They are working to destroy and eliminate each other. Here’s hoping that there are no explosives. But haven’t you noticed or felt the ground shaking already? The Liberal Party, being in a position of great advantage, seems to be leading this dirty war in politics.

Nowadays, it’s simply called “demolition job.” Since the surveys have hinted the low placement of the Liberal Party’s bet for presidency, the LP has begun its work toward “stardom”. They seem to have resorted into demolition tactics to ease out those leading the races using the forces of government behind them.

Just hours after filing his candidacy, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that it has found probable cause to indict VP Binay in the criminal charges involving the alleged overpriced Makati parking building. Binay and his son former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay are now facing four counts each of graft and six counts of falsification of public documents and one count each of malversation raps. Who has power over the Ombudsman in this country? Even if it claims independence we are not that stupid to connect the dots. How can such verdict arrive so timely when many cases are rotting in the shelves of the Office? I guess when you want to get something done, you can do it – such is the case of Binay.

For Senator Grace Poe, her citizenship has been an issue. But when the LP was courting her it was of no concern. When she turned them down, it became an issue. So, which is which? So when you run with a party connected with the current Administration, you are safe? And if you run with a party opposed to the Administration, you are in hell’s way? Susmariosep! There are at least three disqualification cases against Poe both in the Senate Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Elections. All these can only grow worse as the days go by and election draws near.

Now let’s talk about Miriam Defensor-Santiago. A few days after filing her COC, groups started to demand for her medical records. Did they mean the records about her cancer? Or her state of mind? Miriam is clearly the Donald Trump of the Philippines. She is the game changer. Just like Trump, Santiago dares to talk on issues others wouldn’t dare talk about. She does not mince words and would often offend sensibilities with her political incorrectness. She exudes confidence and authority in everything she does. She is not afraid to be unconventional. She is brilliant – a cause for fear of her political enemies. She is a tough and ruthless negotiator. Among the presidential candidates for 2016, Santiago is the most liked in the social media network. Of course her detractors hate her guts. They looked at her as if she is from another planet. Easing Miriam Santiago out of the race will not be easy.

Now, let’s talk about Mar Roxas. Everything seems to be sugar and spice and everything nice for this candidate. The President seems to be using his power and might to ensure the victory of Mar.  P-Noy needs this win to protect himself from the consequences of his inefficiencies in government for the past years. And now that the opposition is sourly mad at the tactics and greed of the current administration, P-Noy and his men may be doomed if Mar does not make it. So, they better fight for the win even if all hell breaks loose.

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With all of these said and done, we have more pressing concerns to address. Aside from the COMELEC’s inability to stop early poll campaigning, there is still the nagging issue of the PCOS machines. The most recent news is quite alarming. COMELEC just announce that they have no funds to pay P8 billion to Smartmatic-Total Information Management Company for the supply of vote-counting machines for the transmission of votes. The votes need to be transmitted from 110,000 clustered precincts to various tabulation centers (from the district level to towns, provinces and cities up to the Comelec and Congress). This means that we will be able to vote on May 9, 2016, but our votes may not be transmitted and counted. Sanamagan!

So, what do we do now? Do we simply accept the situation? How will Chairman Bautista resolve this problem? Will he stand up and take some action or will he just sit on the problem – again another reason for the opposition to accuse the LP of a pre-calculated move for a sure win. COMELEC needs to come out and explain what is going on. The fate of this country lies in its hands.