Choosing the 16th President in 2016

Now that we have Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero formally declaring their candidacies for the 2016 presidential race, the choices are clearer for voters. Vice President Jojo Binay and Mar Roxas have long been known as the frontrunners for the presidency with their respective running mates still to be announced. While many Filipinos will be hard pressed to make their choices come election day, everyone also knows the kind of issues and handicaps that these candidates will be facing.

Mar Roxas reluctantly came into politics when his Congressman brother Dinggoy died at a young age. Dinggoy was actually the heir apparent of their father, Senator Gerry Roxas, son of President Manuel Roxas. Mar was already a successful investment banker in New York when Dinggoy died, so he was called home and won in the special election to replace his brother. No doubt, Mar’s family heritage is his biggest asset combined by the fact that his mother’s family – the Aranetas – is one of the wealthiest in the Philippines. Mar’s family has never been involved in any corruption scandal. However, his stint as Cabinet Secretary under the Aquino administration – first under the DOTC portfolio and then as DILG chief – has been less than stellar. 

One of the most damning in the eyes of many is Mar’s actions and actuations in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, where he was seen belaboring technicalities and legalities while all around him were thousands of dead, with families in misery, waiting for help from the national government. A well known political analyst described the track record of Mar Roxas as “spotless” – “unblemished by competence and compassion for the poor.” Another major issue going against Mar is his handling of the 21-day Zamboanga siege where 24,000 families were displaced.

Nonetheless, Mar is dependent entirely on President Aquino’s popularity and hopes to continue the “daang matuwid” platform of government. President Aquino’s satisfaction ratings in the recent Social Weather Stations survey showed an uptick by 11 percent. All these plus the machinery and the formidable resources of the Liberal Party – the country’s biggest political party – will carry weight in the forthcoming elections. Mar’s choice of Leni Robredo as his running mate could also be a big plus. Even if Leni Robredo is not well known to many voters, she is an easy sell because she can ride on her late husband Jesse Robredo’s track record.

One major factor that Mar’s Liberal Party has to get rid off is this perception of “exclusivity,” illustrated by the story of a businessman friend who was invited to the “anointment” of Mar Roxas but was surprised when he was asked to wear yellow so that he could be identified as a supporter of the LP and the president. The businessman declined to go because first of all, he said, he did not have a yellow shirt. This kind of mentality only gives emphasis on Mar’s elitist background, turning off a lot of the young voters that will comprise 40 percent of voters in 2016. The irony of it all is that vice president Jojo Binay is even more “yellow” than Mar himself.

Vice President Jejomar Binay – who came into the crosshair early on because he was the first to declare his intention to run for president – has been subjected to unrelenting controversy involving corruption allegations, and it looks like the attacks will only escalate once the campaign season officially starts. A clear indication that the youth are getting affected by the allegations became apparent during the forum with UP Los Baños students.

While the Veep took everything in stride – even joking that UP will not be UP anymore had the students not subjected him to a grilling – reasoning that people have been misinformed by what they have been seeing and reading in social media, what is bothersome to many is that he has not satisfactorily answered all the corruption allegations against him. However, he still has a solid following from the masses who can relate with his story – an orphan who did menial work to support himself through college – plus the goodwill of many local government units that were recipients of Makati’s generosity when Binay was still mayor.

Grace Poe, on the other hand, has no major baggage as far as issues and allegations are concerned. However, the citizenship and residency issues will hang over her head like Damocles’ sword. One negative issue that is being thrown against her is her lack of experience – but then again, this was the same issue that President Aquino faced when he ran in 2010.

Grace’s lack of a political party could become a hurdle because a well-oiled party machinery could make a big difference in the delivery of votes at the grassroots level. However, her supporters are confident that her “Partido Pilipinas” will catch on because it implies inclusivity – a dig at the “exclusivity” that the Aquino administration has been criticized with, where only those perceived to be of the yellow color persuasion could join in.

But according to some people, the biggest handicap of Grace Poe will be Chiz Escudero himself because of the resistance from certain sectors of society. For some reason, Chiz comes across as a liability – perhaps because of the negative publicity surrounding his personal life. Chiz will have to overcome this and must reinvent himself as a good back up for Grace.

Choosing the 16th President in 2016 will be different from any other election. He or she will be chosen by the highest percentage of young voters in our country today – who are well informed and can see through, and beyond, the political color.

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