HERE we go again. With the national elections less than a year away, politicians are out in the open. Not only are they more accessible to the public, they are readily available for interviews and public appearances. They establish links with leaders of the party in power, and if that fails, they present themselves to the next best thing-–the opposition party.

In the current political environment where there is no clear picture on which party is in the lead and who the strongest presidential contenders are, it is anybody’s game and the circus comes to town with all the fanfare.

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There will be the usual clowns who sign up as candidates without party affiliation, without funding and even familial support—and good only for photo ops. But of course, when we’ve laughed enough, they’ll be cancelled out as nuisance candidates.

Then there are the recidivist losers who are able to actually raise enough funds to support a low key campaign. Some of them share the same surnames as leading candidates, and the publicity just raises their adrenalin. And who knows what price they get for them to withdraw from the race?

The serious candidates take elections like they were taking on Manny Pacquiao in the ring. They prepare long prior to the contest by seeking out financial donors, scouting for campaign leaders, and pushing their names to the powers-that-be.

The incumbents start work immediately after being proclaimed as winner, giving dole outs every now and then using pork barrels and discretionary funds--all from government coffers. To ascertain that they stay in power after serving the maximum term, they shamelessly put in as dummy candidates family members who, most often, end up as “honorable” dummies.

At the opposite end are equally serious candidates who were once in power or are ambitious neophytes who believe they can make a difference. With the hope that the political machinery of the opposition would match that of the administration, and by consistently attacking the “failures” of the incumbent, these candidates get their campaign going until the voting day.

But if the culture hasn’t changed, vote buying will determine the outcome of the elections. The practice usually happens away from the urban areas and the coverage of media. And when cash won’t assure the win, goons force voters to place their patrons on the ballot.

It has been repeatedly said that the politicians of this country are the obstacle towards genuine democracy and economic development. Yet, the final arbiter is the people who elect them into office.

It is the lack of ideology among the politicians and the people at large that has failed to stop the chronic electoral failure in the Philippines. Other than the leftist coalitions as well as the anti-communist groups, I can count only two prominent centrist politicians who established an ideology-based party (Lakas NUCD), namely the late senator Raul Manglapus and former president Fidel Ramos, both Christian Democrats.

But sadly those who continue to swear allegiance to the party do not have any inkling of the principles that the party stands for. That is sad, very sad.

If only our election laws could be more stringent in the formation of parties, allowing registration only to those who have identified ideologies, and following through their performances in line with the political leaning. I could be happier if more people in the mold of Crispin Beltran (representing the Left) and Pastor Alcover Jr. (representing the Right) would inhabit the halls of Congress than the usual suspects who worship money and power as deities.