Politics: Only in the Philippines

Finally, the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2016 elections is over, but the final list of presidential and vice presidential candidates will only be known in December after the Commission on Elections prunes down the list and takes out the so-called nuisance candidates who have “no reasonable expectation of victory.” The Comelec reported a record high number of 130 individuals registered as presidential candidates – topping the 99 who filed in 2010.

We are one of the few countries in the world where all kinds of characters and almost any Tom, Dick (with the exception of Dick Gordon) and Harry can file a certificate of candidacy as long as they reach the minimum qualifications pertaining to age, nationality, residency and have the ability to read and write – making it easier for anyone to become a presidential candidate than to get a job abroad that requires a certain educational level to qualify.

Only in the Philippines – a man who works as a waiter and claiming to be an intergalactic emissary filed his certificate, saying he will be supported by his alien friends and that his campaign will be launched through the internet. Still another wants his name on the ballot to be reflected as “Angel Lucifer.” Not surprisingly, perennial candidate “Spike Ely” Pamatong also threw his hat into the circus, even burning a Chinese flag to show his stand regarding the territorial dispute against China. Still another said she heard the voice of God telling her to file because it is her mission, even warning her to “endure the ridicule” she will get in the process.

Anybody can run for President or Vice President in this country including Rotary club members like Susing Pineda and Arthur Lopez.

Comelec chairman Andy Bautista will start purging the list to identify the serious candidates from the clowns – which might leave us with about four or five serious presidential candidates – a good number compared to previous elections where seven or eight vied for the top position that kind of confused the voting public. The final list could end up with Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Grace Poe, Mar Roxas, Senator Miriam Santiago and if speculations prove correct, Mayor Digong Duterte who could be a last minute substitute for Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman Martin Diño who made a “last two minutes” filing under the PDP-Laban party. Under Comelec rules, those running under a party may withdraw and have someone as a substitute candidate – with Dec. 10 as the deadline for substitution. The problem though is that the Duterte mania is already losing steam because of the mayor’s “urong-sulong.”

Currently, the tandem of Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero is on top of the surveys, but they should be running scared because they are going to be the main target of vicious attacks. Even now, wheels are reportedly turning to have Grace Poe disqualified as a candidate – and these suspicions got stronger when a day after she filed her COC, a new disqualification case was filed by a former GSIS legal counsel and spokesperson over the issue of her residency and citizenship (again).

Mar Roxas of course has all the administration resources at his beck and call, plus the machinery and the war chest of the Liberal Party at his disposal. LP die-hards are also elated that Congresswoman Leni Robredo has capitulated and agreed to be Mar’s running mate, believing that she will be able to convert votes for her to Mar. We should note however that a vote for her will not necessarily mean a vote for the LP standard bearer because the president and VP are voted separately (unlike in the US where people vote along party lines). What it will do however is that the entry of Leni Robredo into the picture now weakens the arguments made against Grace Poe that she is inexperienced. It can be said that both are relatively neophytes.

As for Vice President Jejomar Binay – don’t count him out yet because despite the continued attacks against him and his family, the VP’s supporters remain solid. However, the Binay camp has to work double time for every vote the VP will get, and we have yet to see if the tandem with Senator Gringo Honasan will change the landscape. The “Bin-Go” (Binay-Gringo) ticket has actually made a former US diplomat remark that “politics in the Philippines make for strange bedfellows” because Gringo and Binay used to be on the opposite sides of the fence during the 1989 RAM-led coups against then president Cory Aquino. Bin-Go however said their team-up underscores their agreement on a common goal to fight poverty and uplift the lives of Filipinos. Honasan with his Bicol connection courtesy of his wife is seen to countermand the influence of Roxas and Robredo over the Bicolano/Visayan votes.

Miriam Santiago, whom I personally like, has a very strong following from the youth who consider her a rock star and hang on to her every word whenever she goes on campus tours. Her running mate, Senator Bongbong Marcos, has the solid backing of the northern bloc plus significant support from the Visayas including Leyte, which should make the tandem a considerably formidable team.

Interestingly, all the tandems virtually leave Senator Alan Peter Cayetano a “lone wolf” (Antonio Trillanes has “adopted” Grace Poe as president) with Digong Duterte still a phantom. In filing his COC, Alan Peter talked about “true change” that is coming – something that all Filipino voters are hoping for from the next leader who, from the way things look, will most definitely be a minority president.

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