I found it funny that a well known and often quoted academician ranted about presidential candidates not being selected through a party caucus like they do in the US.
If I didn’t know better, I would have ranted right along with the academician and pilloried what appears to be Malacanang’s attempt to offer Senator Grace Poe “a deal she can’t refuse.”
Thing is I know better and what I see is someone who knows which side their bread is buttered. The academician was just taking a swipe at Malacanang out of self-interest rather than honestly attempting to “enlighten” people about how political parties should behave.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
Like, come on! I can’t believe that the academician doesn’t know that the country doesn’t have real political parties, but, rather, political mafias.
Politicians own and control the parties they belong to. Nacionalista Party belongs to Manny Villar, Liberal party belongs to Mar Roxas et al, Lakas-CMD belongs to Fidel Ramos, PDP-Laban belongs to Koko Pimentel, and UNA belongs to Jojo Binay.
None of these parties will ever name a standard bearer who isn’t the party’s owner or co-owner.
That said, what I guess the deal Malacanang is offering Senator Grace Poe is either to be Mar Roxas’ running mate or to not run at all.
And really, because we are talking about politics (which to me, will always be about getting power and controlling wealth), I think it is better to view Malacanang’s meeting with Poe as a round of trying to broker some sort of deal.
There are no noble principles involved in this deal and the best thing that will come out of it will be that each party comes away with what the most that they can bargain for.
It can be a matter of trading concessions that may involve powerful positions in government, juicy government projects, or if it comes to it, something as crass as actual money being actually wired into some bank somewhere.
I can only guess at who really has the upper hand in this round of deal making.
Poe is the presidential survey leader and some say that no less than Ramon S. Ang is backing her. Apart from popularity and the means to mount a national campaign, perhaps Malacanang is also wary of what could go wrong for them if Poe runs as president, regardless of any legal obstacles.
If she does run as president, that would only hurt Roxas (assuming that he still has a shot at the presidency at this point) and not Pnoy.
Thing is, what is Roxas bringing to the table that Poe would find worth making a deal for?
Is it a national political machinery? Those observing how the Liberal Party has behaved for years will tell you that it has several factions and factions within those factions. If ever Roxas has a national political machinery, it is perhaps his own and not the Liberal Party’s.
I don’t know if he can, in fact, wield whatever power there may be in his office as Secretary of Interior and Local Government. I was told that it is doubtful that he has any influence over a potent group of locally elected officials.
Is it the threat of somehow getting the Comelec to declare Poe’s win as senator invalid owing to the citizenship issue raised against her?
And lastly, what is Senator Chiz Escudero bringing to the table? MEH? What? Yeah… Chiz.
Yeah, I know this situation sucks and right now, I really wish WE DID have genuine as well as principled political parties. But we don’t, so deal with it because this is the way it is…
Writer.
In 2010, Chiz supported Binay on VP race and 5 years later he’s one of the 9 senate who are willing to investigate the corruption case against Binay & might lead into his impeachment soon. The irony of Philippine politics, huh? The circus show continues till May 2016. :\
Whether pres or VP – Looks like the choices are :
Poe – incorruptible but inexperienced
Binay – obviously corrupt but experienced
Roxas – incorruptible and experienced
Duterte – vigilante and experienced
Chiz – cute smile (Ibest choice for those who prefer to see a pleasing to look at face on the daily news for the next 6 years for a change)
Definition of terms:
Incorruptible – means honest, has integrity, no record of scandals
Experienced – means proven competent, effective, gets job done
However the final mix up is gonna be – just vote wisely guys.
Forgot to add:
Vigilante – means “kill ’em al! ” referring to criminals and Corrupt officials.
Funny question: if it turns out to be a Binay-Duterte tandem on the other side of the court, does that mean Duterte will have Binay executed (for being corrupt) once they win and get into office? that makes him President from the get go. Sounds like a plan huh – let’s see how it goes.
Hi, zaxx! Would you care to elaborate why you think Roxas is “incorruptible and experienced”? And why can’t anybody put Binay to jail if he’s “obviously corrupt”?
Hi Sick, sure. It’s hard to be in all sorts of government positions and yet stay spotless in terms of corruption allegations and scandals. Corruption is easy to detect – when there’s smoke, there must be a fire. so I would give Roxas a 1.25 grade on cleanliness of records. His detractors have nothing on him.
Meanwhile Binay is the polar opposite. The guy’s up to his neck in allegations. Only a shit- for-brains who has a death wish for his country would vote for this guy. I have met one of Binay’s close associates deep in the heart of Makati. They go a long ways back since their early days as lawyers, and he attested to me that This Binay character is corrupt to the core.
The reason why you nobody could jail him? Well the most powerful people of the land (senators) couldn’t even bring Binay to attend his own trial/hearing, how much more put him in jail. The guy’s untouchable.
Thanks for an honest to goodness answer. Controversy on corruption allegations or any other crime and incompetence concerning a politician prevents more work to be done so at best he must be incorruptible and know his way out of political liability. But I’m afraid Mar is donning yellow while on promotional tour of “Sa Daang Matuwid, wala tayong talo.” He has to be his ‘own man’ first.
“The reason why you nobody could jail him? Well the most powerful people of the land (senators) couldn’t even bring Binay to attend his own trial/hearing, how much more put him in jail. The guy’s untouchable.”
Since the corruption has been going on for so long, if he falls, he’ll bring a big part of the system down with him. That’s what the curious cat said about him being untouchable.
Hey Zaxx… I understand your reasoning really and believe me, I actually think along the same lines.
A friend of mine actually wrote about Mar being the best of a set of bad choices, maybe you should read i http://www.rappler.com/views/imho/96211-winnability-choices-philippine-electionst
Paul, thanks for validating my executive summary. I read your friend’s article and an idea cane to mind . Each of the above current lot of candidates is actually representing our recent previous presidents.
Voters, it’s your choice. Which era would you like a repeat of:
Poe – a repeat of the Cory era. Honest but poor management/planning
Binay – a repeat of the Gloria era. Scandal after scandal in the news.
Roxas – a repeat of the Ramos era. straight forward progress. gets the job done.
Duterte – a repeat of the Marcos era. Dead bodies left and right.
Chiz – a repeat of the Noy era. Simply all smiles.
All of these Presidential aspirants, have nothing to offer new to the present political system. It will be More of the Same. Roxas is incompetent, and a Feudal Oligarch. Grace Poe has no good track record; and lacks managerial experience. Escudero is a “Snake Oil” salesman, and is a political opportunist.
It is like choosing rotten mangoes in a “kaing”. We choose, the less rotten…
Are there better choices?
At this point, no. If we want better leaders to emerge, start from the bottom: the people who vote. I think people should start to demand more from out politicians. But we are too “humble” to do such thing. And that is our problem. That’s the source of pwede-na-yan mentality.
If don’t want to put up with these pathetic clowns anymore, we should start empowering the masses. Make them realize that they truly are the boss, as what Noynoy claims, and they can demand the shit out of their representatives.
The mere fact people are asking “Is there no one else?” is proof of Pinoy indolence. Who do Pinoy’s expect to create choices for them? If they’re look elsewhere other than themselves, this is exactly what you will get.
I once saw a politician walking a dog, and I thought, “How absurd — an animal walking an animal.” Then I thought, “If given the choice, I’d rather vote for the dog.”