Thursday, November 01, 2007 Editorials: Drugs money in barangay polls
BARANGAY Carreta is not the only area where talks that some candidates in the barangay polls were being funded by or are themselves drug lords were passed around.
Drug money, though, may not have been the only one that flowed because proceeds from gambling and other illegal deals surely propped up other bets also.
Worse, even with those talks, some of the affected candidates went on to win, which tended to prove that character did not guide many voters in making a choice.
Foothold
This should pose a problem for law enforcers, who will now find it even more difficult to fight the drug menace and other ills in areas where these candidates won.
Still, they can start by listing down the questionable winners and begin the tedious process of confirming the links, building up a case and possibly locking them up in jail.
That can loosen up somewhat the foothold of those involved in illegal acts in governance especially in the barangay level, although that won’t solve the problem fully.
This is because it is rooted in the very flaws of our electoral setup that, even at the barangay level, has been reduced to a contest of who has the most money to spend.
Solicitation
Indeed, winning in elections is no longer just about having organization and logistics for the campaign but is more so about being able to buy votes on election day.
It is no secret, for example, that bets who are not awash with money (whether legally or illegally acquired) spent time soliciting funds from friends and other sources.
The “other sources” could be politicians with an eye for posts in the congressional districts and local government units in future elections, businessmen, drug lords, etc.
The setup where, on one side you have candidates needing funds and on the other you have people with cash flowing, like drug lords, is therefore the problem.
Dubious ends
And it would be hypocritical for politicians at the higher levels to chide barangay politicians when they themselves got funds for elections from many sources, including questionable characters.
Until a better electoral system is in place, well-meaning sectors can’t fully prevent drug and gambling lords and other moneyed people from influencing politics and governance for dubious ends.
