Changing political parties like changing diapers

There was a time in the history of our country when politicians lived as Nacionalista or Liberal and died as such loyal party leaders and followers. Don Sergio Osmeña Sr was always a Nacionalista from the time he and president Manuel Quezon founded that party until they both died. Serging Osmeña was always a Liberal, while Ramon Durano was always a Nacionalista. Today, the new breed of trapos have no sense of party stability, much less party loyalty. They change affiliations as quickly as they change their underwear. No principle involved whatsoever.

Inday Sara, who wants to become the vice president (that is if she wins over Tito Sotto, of course), founded the Hugpong ng Pagbabago. then peremptorily resigned from that party, by remote control, without even meeting the core leaders, and then rushed to take her oath before Martin Romualdez, the president of GMA's party. Why so fast. Is there any principle involved here? Are political parties not based on principles, philosophies and values? Well, GMA is the daughter of the most loyal Liberal Party stalwart, Disodado Macapagal. Today, she is fighting the party of her father. In fairness to her, she is not alone. In fact, the first party turncoat was the LP founder, Manuel Roxas, Mar Roxas’ lolo.

Serging was an LP, his father being the founder of the NP. Well, the NP led by Durano, in alliance with NP's Ed Kintanar of Argao, Manuel Zosa of Barili, Tereso Dumon of the north, combined their forces to make Marcos win over Serging in 1969. Serging even lost in Cebu province because of the NP juggernaut. The first turncoat I came to know was Manuel Roxas who was an NP and who left the party when Don Sergio won over him in a clean NP party convention. Roxas founded the Liberal Party with Elpidio Quirino and they both became presidents. In Cebu, Don Mariano Jesus Cuenco was an LP and an enemy of the Osmeñas. But Serging later, entered into an alliance with the Cuencos, leading to the Osmeña-Cuenco fusion, which dominated Cebu City until Marcos demolished it by Martial Law.

Today, there is no more authentic party politics, since Marcos destroyed the two-party system and introduced the behemoth KBL, to which all the big politicians in Cebu affiliated. Only the Pusyon Bisaya stood up, but even that group was suspected to have been created by Marcos himself. Marcos was the ultimate Sun Tzu's' The Art of War strategist. He wanted to show to the world that there was an opposition. Thus, allegedly, he secretly funded the Pusyon and even the Pusyon members did not know that they were being used as a showcase for a pretended democracy. Grand deception in the most intricate ways.

In 2015, mayor Digong Duterte was adopted by the PDP-Laban of Nene Pimentel. He was welcomed into the house so that he could have a launching pad for his last-minute presidential candidacy. Once in power, he put his own people, like Cusi, and ousted the original owners. That party is now in trouble and in turmoil. Now, the president is running for senator under an unknown party. Sara, his daughter, is with the GMA party. Polong is running for congressman and Baste as mayor under Hugpong, which Inday founded and then abandoned. Mind-boggling, in a frenzy of dizzying rigodon of party shiftings. The Marcoses are not running under KBL. The last time I checked, Imee is affiliated with the Villar-franchised NP, together with the Cayetanos.

It all appears that national interest is never even mentioned as having to do with all these carousels of party affiliation and disaffiliation. No principles involved, no values involved. All for political convenience. My God, what is happening to our country, General Parlade? Are these parts of the problems or parts of the solutions?