Campaign realities dawning on GO

Halfway into the 90-day campaign, GO (Genuine Opposition) has yet to get going. Sen. Serge Osmeña’s substitution last week for JV Ejercito as team coach was meant to rev up the once 12, now 11 senatorial runners, but that didn’t happen. His first move was to call for a two-week timeout from provincial stumps for strategy review, which the candidates largely ignored since it would have had them resuming sorties on Holy Week — when vote soliciting is prohibited. So Osmeña kept himself busy designing new logos and looking for new headquarters. It was evocative of GO’s indecision with its name, once UNO (United Opposition) and another time GA (Grand Alliance). And of Ejercito’s false starts for a kickoff rally, first at spacious Makati Triangle, then at Liwasang Bonifacio, finally at the easier-to-fill Plaza Miranda.

Better late than never, though, Osmeña has crafted a battle cry. "Fight corruption to solve poverty" gives GO candidates a platform of government in lieu of endless carping. Perhaps they can now live down their image of volatility from defector Tessie Oreta’s exposé that they had signed a pact to unseat President Gloria Arroyo once elected and yet copied her economic agenda. The slogan taunts Arroyo’s Team Unity promise of social payback from economic reforms. GO can tie up recent reports that the Philippines is Asia’s dirtiest system, and that one of every five families are going hungry.

Yet slogans alone cannot make surveys come true of GO getting eight of 12 Senate seats. It must face the harsh realities of elections — particularly funding and machinery.

Going by press murmurs, Ejercito’s exit from the campaign signaled a pullout of funding from his dad, detained ex-president Joseph Estrada. Shutoff of the Estrada cash faucet is said to be the real reason for Osmena’s timeout. Reporters from small news outfits, who rely on GO provisions for travel, lodging and food, have been told to start fending for themselves. Richer candidates are picking up the tab for them while barnstorming on their own, inciting jealousy from party mates. Compounding the disunity from fund shortage is that three of the GO bets are eyeing the Presidency in 2010 and so are elbowing each other to top the balloting.

Harder still for GO is gathering local support. Although it consists of five parties, the coalition counts very few bailiwicks. In one, Iloilo, GO had to scrap its first provincial rally ostensibly due to security threats but actually, as its Rep. Rolex Suplico disclosed, because only a tiny crowd had shown up. Most local officials are with the Lakas, Kampi and NPC parties that dominate TU. GO has been unable to put up strong contenders against incumbent enemy governors and mayors.

Perhaps GO might as well surrender the local fights in exchange for backing for its "senatoriables" to ensure national victory. But that’s easier said than done. The reality is that most voters rely on sample ballots from their local officials on whom to vote for the Senate. And these local officials are still seething from the obstruction by GO senators to pass the 2005 and 2006 national budgets, which reduced their local share of tax collections. Further infuriating them, GO leaders also deleted from the 2007 budget two multibillion-peso livelihood and anti-poverty programs to be implemented by governors and mayors. There’s too much bad blood around. It’s unlikely that Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, as former head of the town mayors’ league, can heal the wounds within one election period.

One thing going for GO is that TU would soon be in disarray with the start of the local fights. In many locales, Lakas and Kampi leaders will be running against each other. Infighting will guarantee their inattention for the TU senatorial ticket.

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Dogfights, often of pit bulls, are illegal in the US as in the Philippines. But while the US strictly enforces the ban, the Philippines doesn’t. That’s why starting last Saturday and for the next two Saturdays (Mar. 31, Apr. 7), American and Filipino gamblers will bet heavy on terriers they had had trained for the past two months.

Venue is the property of a certain Dan, very near a resort in Boso-Boso, Antipolo City, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cell phone signal in the area is iffy. So participants may have a hard time calling their usual patrons in case of a police raid. Local politicos and cops abet Dan’s derbies. But the NBI might take note of this column and ask me for details.

A regular Saturday dogfight also goes on at the property of JVA in Pandi, Bulacan, an hour’s drive from the NCLEX exit. The estate is large; the arena is a mile from the gate. I wonder what the multimillionaire will say if authorities seize it for being used for crime.

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