2016: Political fallout from pork

The pork barrel scam allegedly hatched by Janet Lim Napoles continues to stoke the outrage of many Filipinos, as the tangled web of complicity is being slowly unraveled by Senator Guigona’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Political observers are watching out for the political fallout from this issue and how the widening scandal will impact the 2016 presidential elections. More likely than not, those aspiring for the top positions will be the most affected.  

A Mar Roxas supporter told us he is “getting worried” about the adverse reactions that have been spreading over cyberspace regarding Mar’s handling of the Napoles issue. The “Ma’am Janet” slip in particular has generated a lot of sarcastic and angry comments, with people taking the seeming deference as proof that indeed, the connections of the alleged brains of the pork barrel scam is widespread.

There are some however who say the “slip” was simply a result of the fact that Mar was “to the manner born” — meaning that coming from a “de buena familia,” it has been ingrained in him to be courteous and respectful. But as pointed out by a columnist, the “Ma’am Janet” Freudian slip is probably a consequence of his lack of understanding of the “kalye” or street mentality where the deferential “Ma’am” can connote a certain degree of familiarity.

It’s not helping either that Malacañang seems to be getting into the habit of defending President Noy’s 2010 running mate whenever he gets a lot of flak from critics or detractors. And then there’s the Serendra blast. It probably seemed a good idea at the time for Mar to appear as a hands-on official, being very visible and voluble to the media during the initial stages of the investigation. But it looks like this tactic is starting to backfire mainly because Mar kept promising to release the report from foreign experts “if not this week, early next week,” “in two weeks,” “at the end of the month.” Well, it seems it never came. Many of the Serendra residents are frustrated and angry.

This early, many are anticipating a significant shift in the political landscape judging from the snowballing anti-pork sentiment among Netizens, with the August 26 “Million March to Luneta” generating another call for a protest march on September 11 — albeit with a different set of “organizers” this time. It’s apparent however that the anti-pork protest movement is driven by middle class rage — or at least that’s how a lot of people perceive it considering that the billions wasted over ghost projects and fake NGOs came from taxes — money contributed by working class people to government coffers.

Even Filipinos abroad are weighing in on the issue, with people like Loida Nicolas Lewis brandishing placards stating, “Vote the rascals out in 2016!” Well, it remains to be seen whether the middle class outrage will translate into votes or no votes for the “rascals.”

Despite Senate President Frank Drilon’s appeal for people not to pass judgment on senators, the widespread perception is that “pare-pareho lang sila” — meaning everyone is tarred with the same brush. Considering the magnitude and extent of the scandal as initial results of the Senate probe indicate, it would seem that the fallout could also affect members of the ruling Liberal Party.

But — going by what happened after Edsa Dos  â€”despite Joseph Estrada’s incarceration over plunder charges, his wife and son were both elected to the Senate. Erap Estrada even came out number two in the 2010 presidential elections mainly because of the so-called loyal masa. If surveys were to be held today, and Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada (who both did very well in their senatorial runs) remain popular, then it’s not farfetched to conclude that the masa factor could once again come into play considering that the D-E classes seem to be “scam proof” — meaning they are not as affected or as disgusted like the middle class regarding the implications of the pork barrel scam. As pointed out by Cardinal Tagle, the economic boom (paradoxically the pork fund scam) only benefits the top, hardly affecting the poorest of the poor.

When the dust settles, we can conclude that the one who will likely be the greatest beneficiary of this whole pork mess is Vice President Jejomar Binay, considered the frontrunner in the 2016 presidential derby. Even with the revelations that his office also receives a slice of the pork, there is no indication that his PDAF allocation was siphoned to fake NGOs. The fact is, Jojo Binay has a very solid following from the lower classes that identify with his ordinary attributes. It doesn’t hurt either that the Vice President happens to be the chairman of HUDCC — a critical agency that caters to the basic housing needs of underprivileged Filipinos. As presidential adviser for OFW concerns, Binay is extremely popular with the OFW families.

And let’s not forget, Binay’s own family is in a great position to advance his presidential aspirations. Senator Nancy Binay’s questions in last Thursday’s Senate hearing impressed many as being right on the spot — obviously helping her father. There are also no indications that Makati Congresswoman Abby Binay is tainted by the pork scandal. In fact, even the latest developments concerning the territorial dispute over Bonifacio Global City between Taguig and Makati is giving the VP an uplift, with Makati mayor Junjun Binay getting the approval of many especially when he indicated his willingness to share revenues with Taguig.

The presidency is truly a matter of destiny – and once again the confluence of recent events seems to indicate that Jejomar Binay is destined to be the next president.

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