The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas is in preparation for the 2025 elections. It recently announced its senatorial slate. (When I go to the polls in May next year,here are my favorites: Rodante Marcoleta, Ben Hur Abalos, Ping Lacson, Imee Marcos, Francis Tolentino. My list isn’t complete yet. I am sure there will be more who will surface in October 8, the day of the filing of certificates of candidacy. Ex-Senators Leila De Lima, Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan lawyer Chel Diokno, businessman Chavit Singson and former President Rodrigo Duterte are some of them. Even the Makabayan bloc maybe fielding the likes of Teddy Casino and Fran Castro. Expect also some nuisance candidates that will make the Commission on Elections busy in expunging the list.
At this early every political parties, national or local, worth its salt should be starting now mending political fences. Early bird catches the worm, so they say. In Pampanga ‘campaigning’ rather came early. In Angeles,Mabalacat and San Fernando the contenders are already on the hustings. But there are several towns where incumbents will be running by their lonesome.
The congressional races in the four districts seemingly are already set. In the first district, Angeles City Mayor is expected by his lonesome, unless last minute bets will surface. It’s given in the second. Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo or maybe her son Mikey will be in. It is quite interesting in the fourth since Patrol party list Representative Jorge Bustos of Masantol will contest the well entrenched Anna York Bondoc Sagum. It is still a guessing game who would be running in the third district. Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio’Dong’ Gonzales reportedly is fielding his daughter. The Pinedas maybe fielding their own. Mexico Mayor Teddy Tumang cannot be discounted since the surveys indicate his chances of scoring a victory.
LET US REVISIT ONCE MORE YESTERDAY POLITICS: Let’s tackle the political system. I grew up knowing two political parties in our country, the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party. Our political system copied the two party system of the United States of America. The counterparts in the USA are the Republican Party aka GOP (Grand Old Party) now headed by Donald Trump and the Democratic Party led by President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the standard bearer.
The Liberal Party (LP) is one of the oldest extant political parties in the country and pride itself with big names like Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino and Diosdado P. Macapagal. It was founded after the war, sometime in 1945. And the oldest party is the Nacionalista Party (NP) which was founded in 1907. The NP was the ruling party from 1935 to 1944 and was headed by President Manuel L. Quezon till the war broke out. Quezon took the submarine with General Douglas Macarthur for the United States via Australia and left the country and the party under the care of Sergio Osmena Sr.
The NP big guns include former Presidents Ramon Magsaysay of Zambales, Carlos P. Garcia of Bohol, Ferdinand E. Marcos of Ilocos Norte and Claro M. Recto of Batangas. One national figure coming from Pampanga was the late Senator Gil J. Puyat of Guagua who became senate president. The late Rafael L. Lazatin of Angeles City and the late Congressman Igmidio Bondoc were the last known prominent members of the party coming from Pampanga.
The leaderships of this country changed hands from stalwarts of these two parties. No political figure during those years can become president unless they belong either to the NP or LP. I remember I was still in the high school when Raul Manglapus, a brilliant senator run as an independent candidate and assembled prominent names in his senatorial slate and all of them failed to get the approval of the electorates. Time to get back to the two party system. When the multi-party system was adopted nagkamal-luko luko na ang pulitika sa atin.