There are two ways of implementing our nation’s laws. One for “Lolo Narding” Floro, summarily jailed for stealing mangoes, and another for “Imeldific” Marcos, convicted of graft but un-jailed.
For that reason, I left the disqualification case against Bongbong Marcos (BBM) entirely to the consciences of Comelec officials. In the end, however, the two ways seemed to prevail. While Comelec canceled for the flimsiest of reasons the Certificates of Candidacy (COC) of obscure yet well-intentioned filers, the electoral body found no reason to cancel the COC of high-profile and filthy-rich BBM.
That leaves the country’s prospects for development not looking any brighter. Whoever wins will not be able to move the country towards inclusive development for reasons we continue to ignore.
Like, BBM’s top priority as President has to be the non-return of the millions (billions?) his family stole. His other priority, he claims, is to unite us. Indeed, a desirable objective except that he will unite us around the belief that his father was God’s gift to the Filipino people.
Leni Robredo is neither the Margaret Thatcher nor the Angela Merkel this country needs to right itself. She doesn’t strike me as capable of breaking the strings tied to the throne by those who run the country’s shadow government.
Manny Pacquiao’s sincere but naive “housing for all” just like Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s generic “ayusin ang gobyerno” and Isko Moreno’s equally generic “social justice” are good for getting votes. But they cannot be fulfilled because they are not part of a party’s coherent socio-economic program.
Candidates are organizing themselves merely for the singular purpose of winning the position they salivate for. Driven by sheer ambition and lacking a social philosophy, no group (I refuse to call them parties) has a common program. Instead candidates have wants and wishes that cannot possibly impact on the country’s main problem of a socio-economic order that is biased in favor of society’s upper crust.
Not one official can pursue a program of government on his own. It takes a genuine party, principled, with a social philosophy and internal discipline, to launch a core socio-economic program and pursue it to fruition. And no such party exists in this country.
Nor is it a sound assumption that when winning candidates take office they will pursue their promises. What do they care anyway. They’ve already won and don’t need anybody’s vote. Thus, the usual wheeling and dealing, realigning and re-positioning for the next election will rule the day. Meanwhile the needs and interests of the marginalized sector will get nothing more than the usual lip service from elected officials.
It is sadly a lose-lose situation. From where I’m coming, it has to be anybody but BBM. The problem is the others are no bargains either.