Jockeying for Elective Posts Kicks Off 2022 Polls

Volume 3, Issue No. 13

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Wednesday, November 17, 2021 

~ In terms of high-spirited public participation nationwide, nothing probably compares to activities before and after an election in the Philippines. This week, the moment finally came to change candidates and positions different from what aspirants had originally signed for, thus ending the jockeying particularly for the two highest elective posts come election time on May 9, 2022. The best example is President Rodrigo Duterte. Forbidden by law to run a second six-year term, he floated the idea of seeking the vice presidency. Later when her daughter Sara Duterte decided to bid for the same post, he forthwith changed his mind and filed his candidacy for senator.

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A CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE PRIOR TO MAY 2022 POLLS

The Political Merry-Go-Round in the Philippines

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“To win the people, always cook them some savoury that pleases them.” ― Aristophanes, The Knights

TORONTO - After so many twists and turns, never-ending change of mind, and constant flip-flopping, the deadline finally came on Monday, November 15, for filing substitution of candidates for the May 9, 2022, general elections in the Philippines.

The cutoff point ended for this election season what's essentially turncoatism, or the merry-go-round by, of, and among 14 political parties and hundreds of candidates for national, provincial, and local positions across the length and breadth of the country's three main geographic regions - Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao - spanning 7,640 islands.

On top of the heap is the contest for who will succeed President Rodrigo Duterte (age 76) who is limited to a six-year term ending June 30, 2022, and Vice President Leni Robredo (age 56) whose six-year term also ends at the same date but is renewable once. In lieu of that chance, she upgraded a notch higher, the presidency.

The pre-election carnival is now in full swing and has generated so much interest to the point that the number of registered voters zoomed past the official projection of 59 million to 63.36 million. Elections officials attribute the rise to nearly five million new registrants.

Shortly before the deadline, scions of two controversial political families have joined hands, securing a formidable north-south alliance that could propel them to gain control of the presidency and vice presidency of Asia's largest Catholic country of 111 million.

As it now looks definite, a five-pronged contest for the two highest posts in the land has evolved with the contenders coming from a slew of regional and national political parties. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1CoyYzXmtU).

In surveys after surveys, the tandem of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (age 64), the former senator popularly known as Bongbong or BBM, and the lawyer Sara Duterte (age 43), incumbent mayor of Davao City, has consistently landed on top.

Bongbong is the namesake son of the strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. whose achievements during his 21-year reign have been largely eclipsed and his legacy pinned on his declaration of martial law in September 1972. (Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongbong_Marcos).

His electoral base boasts of the "Solid North" - the provinces in the country's northern region that had historically favored and voted for a native son, Ferdinand Sr., to the presidency. The vote-rich region is expected to cast its lot with Bongbong Marcos.

Sara aka Inday Sara is the second child and headstrong daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte. (Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Duterte). She presently occupies the position of mayor of Davao City, the largest in the Philippines in land area, and third most populous after Quezon City and Manila.

Sara's bailiwick is the Visayan-speaking southern provinces, including the Mindanao region of which Davao City is a part. Previously, she had declined to compete for either the presidency or vice presidency, preferring instead for reelection as mayor. At the last minute, however, she relented, withdrew her candidacy for mayor, and filed for the second-highest post.

The decision led to the formation of a Marcos-Duterte or BBM-Sara tandem that appears to please their bases and supporters across the country. By merging, the duo has practically rounded up a huge mass base of voters.

The luster of former boxing champion now Senator Manny Pacquiao (age 42), nicknamed PacMan by his fans, does not seem to attract voters to his bid to become president. His teammate, Lito Atienza (age 80), is a former mayor of Manila. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Pacquiao_2022_presidential_campaign).

While Pacquiao is concededly popular worldwide as a boxing champion, the mental imagery of him as a president does not quite appeal to voters. His present tenure as a lawmaker - one of 24 senators - is not exemplary either.

The other aspirants for the presidency and their running mates are current Vice President Leni Robredo (age 56) and Senator Francisco Pangilinan (age 58); Senator Panfilo Lacson (age 73) and Senate President Vicente Sotto III (age 73); and current Manila Mayor Francisco Moreno Domagoso (age 47) aka Isko Moreno and Dr. Willie Ong (age 58), a cardiologist.

Robredo, leader of the Liberal Party, is running as an independent candidate for president, a decision pundits believe was her effort to distance herself from the so-called Yellows of former president Benigno Simeon Aquino. She has also adopted pink as her official color. (Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leni_Robredo).

Her chance of leading the nation as president is slim, just like the other three, namely, Pacquiao, Lacson, and Moreno.

Lacson, a senator since 2016, is a former police general. (Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panfilo_Lacson).

Domagoso, popularly known as Isko Moreno, is the incumbent mayor of Manila, and a former movie actor. (Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isko_Moreno). (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).