With too many good challengers, the bad one wins

Remember how Miriam Defensor Santiago lost to FVR who won only with 23% of the total valid votes cast? There were too many better aspirants than FVR: Santiago, Danding Cojuangco, Ramon Mitra, Salonga, Imelda (not her), and the unlamented Doy Laurel. How did FPJ lose to GMA?

The same tactic invented by Niccolo Machiavelli; divide, win and conquer. Divide your enemies, win the war, and conquer the kingdom. Are our politicians too stupid not to learn this basic lesson in political history? How Did Mar Roxas lose in 2016? Grace Poe took away votes from Mar, Binay, Santiago, and even my good friend Roy Seneres, bless his soul. The nine million votes of Mar plus the nine million votes of Poe could have upset Duterte's 16 million. Are they too dense to understand basic arithmetic? Or, are they too overwhelmed with greed for power.

Now, with Isko running for president, aside from Manny Pacquiao, Ping Lacson, and then Leni Robredo, how can they all win against a solid Marcos-Duterte tandem? Yes, the deal is done. Inday Sara will file for mayor and then be replaced by Baste in the last two minutes (Polong is running for congressman again). Inday, against her better judgment, will eventually accept the vice presidential draft to replace her father. Bongbong is the name of the standard bearer. Now, with avalanche of solid north votes from the Ilocoslovakia and the not-so-solid (not anymore) votes from Mindanao and many loyal Visayan votes from the Visayas, how can Leni, Isko, Pacman, or Ping hope to win?

The 2022 scenario is a deja vu of 2016. Isko will corner the Metro Manila votes and the support of the youth and the academic community. Leni will have the support of the Church and the business community and the elite in society. Pacquiao will solidify the masses with his promise of a house for every Filipino family. The OFWs will also be with Pacman. Only Ping Lacson can chip away votes from Digong, but Manong Rody is not running. Lacson and Duterte are both crime busters and drug busters (kuno). But Lacson already ran before and lost heavily.

And so, the bottom line is pure and simple. If it is one-on-one, Marcos will lose, Leni has already proven that. If there are many deserving opponents, the undeserving will win. Is that simple hypothesis too hard for our politicians to comprehend? If Cardinal Sin were alive today, he would probably summon Isko, Leni, Pacman, and Ping, and put them inside a room, under pain of mortal sin, not to come out unless they have agreed on a common candidate. We need a respectable and time-honed statesman with a large dose of credibility to be able to hammer into the heads of these overly-ambitious wannabes.

If we only have a decent ex-president, like Ramon Magsaysay or Manuel Quezon, or Don Sergio Osmeña, I am sure the grand old men could do that and all the aspirants would yield. Let us pray for our nation and people.