Election for election’s sake

One newspaper’s headlines said it all: the actor-presidential candidate is mad (mad as in angry, not mad as in deranged.) But there it was, a real-life character slowly revealing itself. He threatens his enemies and critics "they may not see the light of day". But perhaps as newspaper reports say, it was "movie talk". If that is the case, then Poe has finally realized he must stop pretending to be a presidential candidate and stick instead to what he knows best – his movie persona. After all, that is what those thousands of fans who mill around him in his campaign sorties want him to be and want to hear from him, not his programs or his platforms. That is for politicians. Poe is their actor. This may be cynical but who is to tell the poor masses that a movie actor and a presidential candidate are two different things. Who will tell them that his movie persona if translated to governing the country will wreak havoc to their lives? Certainly not those are for him. But what about those who are against the entire enterprise? Will they just watch from the sidelines while a tragedy unfolds?That is no bandwagon for a political candidate that you see on front pages but adulation for a movie idol. They are there because they are his movie fans, not his political followers.

But Poe is not responsible for the bizarre events which led him to be a candidate for president. Others are responsible and our duty is to smoke out these others. A serious political analyst should point that out clearly to the public – Poe is not to blame; it is his financial and political backers for the presidency who are to blame. Without their support, he would have continued with what he does well – make movies. These backers, (although we know of two, Angara and Sotto) should be identified and not be allowed to hide in the shadows. It is not enough to say they are trapos or cronies. We have yet to know the names of his economic team. Once identified, we must repeat their names again and again, expose their business interests and ambitions until people begin to understand just what the Poe candidacy is all about.

While at a restaurant the other day, I overheard a young couple talking about friends who have migrated because they do not have a future in this country. I had to butt in and tell them that was wrong. I told them to stay put or they will regret they ever left. True the situation is challenging but it can be overcome. But only if they stick around and face the challenge.There is no doubt the business world is worried and "FPJ is at the center of their worries because of his ignorance and lack of experience". According to one analysis, the risk is that "his lack of experience and knowledge could lead to political mismanagement which could result in higher interest rates, a weaker currency, hyperinflation and decrease in output." Didn’t we learn from the Erap presidency and FPJ is even more ignorant and more inexperienced than Erap?

Take the problem of more jobs for the poor which the next government will have to face. The present government, just as with the rest of the world, has had to deal with an economic meltdown that has lost millions of jobs. For governments, even those led by the most experienced, it is a steep climb and we do not know what will come next. So FPJ makes wild promises if he says he can do better than the present government. He has not said exactly how he will do to help the poor. All he has said so far is that the poor must trust him because he has their interest in his heart and his pro-poor movie character is his character in real life. But as those who know well have said there is nothing in his personal life which would show that dedication to the poor, except, of course in the movies and for which he rakes in millions. Neither does his circle of friends has anything to commend his aims for the poor. To be fair, both GMA and FPJ have a fair share of these characters.

Mga artista para kay FPJ – the worst example of vested interest. That one-page ad for FPJ is an admission by the movie personalities that they are a vested interest. While they have every right to support a presidential candidate of their choice, does it have to be another artista if what they want are policies that will help the country and consequently the movie industry? What if he does help the movie industry and the rest of the country goes to pot? It will be a pyrrhic victory. If they still want an actor to protect the interests of their industry they are better supporting actors for party-list representatives, not president of the country that must manage a wide array of conflicting interests..

The Abat proposal. Poor Ambassador Fortunato Abat. He is being pilloried for suggesting we should suspend the May elections and vote instead for delegates to a convention that would tackle constitutional reform. Only then can we get out of the rut. Didn’t he know that there are millions of stakeholders in elections in this country. From top to bottom, there is money to be made, millions for the rich and powerful, thousands for their leaders and wards and a few hundreds to the voters. I know a number of people who feel as frustrated as Abat but they will not make a peep – they might be laughed out or worse make enemies. Better to play safe and just keep silent. Let others take the risk.

It is ncreasingly obvious that what we will have in May has nothing to do with good or democratic governance. Ask anyone who has even the slightest understanding of politics and they will tell you it is a waste of time and money. The trouble is that ordinary citizens, especially the middle classes, are not inclined to express their views. Peter Wallace’s analysis of Filipino middle classes may be funny but it is painfully true. He is right to ask "Where is the Filipino middle class?" When he thinks of middle class, he thinks of a truculent middle class like Voltaire, Oliver Cromwell (notwithstanding his cruel excesses), the men and women of the Frankfurt Assembly of 1848. It may offend many but Wallace is right about Filipino middle class being mostly just a bunch of social climbers who dream of being invited to the house of Zobel and eat with their poodles.

Whether you agree with Gen. Abat or not, he has expressed a common opinion. But he did not reckon with power of a false consciousness about democracy. Any insinuation to suspend the elections, even it were only a farce will be met with fury. What? That is undemocratic. Yeh, sez who? Come May 2004 we will not be voting leaders in the true sense of the word, what we will have is an election for election’s sake and that is not helping democracy or the country. That is the current against which the Abat proposal must swim against.

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