Sad state of Philippine politics

I have been following Philippine politics since I was in grade school. This was primarily due to the influence of my father, who was a commander of the Hukbalahap and eventually became an active member of the Nationalist Citizens Party (NCP). The first political event that I attended during my pre-teen years was an NCP rally in 1957 where we listened to Sen. Claro M. Recto, its presidential candidate, and Lorenzo Tañada, the vice presidential candidate. We also attended the rally of the Progressive Party whose candidates were Manuel Manahan for president and Raul Manglapus for vice president.

When I was studying in La Salle Manila during my college years, the Senate was only one jeepney ride away. I was able to attend a few of the sessions during that time. I especially remember Sen. Jose Diokno, who even then I had hoped would run for president. I also became a volunteer when Sen. Raul Manglapus decided to run for president in the 1965 election.

I can still remember the time when Sen. Jovito Salonga topped the senatorial elections in 1965, 1971 and 1987, which I thought were well-deserved victories.

As I view the present political scene and observe the candidates who won in the last national elections and those who have filed Certificates of Candidacy (COC) for the 2025 midterm elections, I do not know whether to laugh at the comedy that is happening or to cry because of the tragedy happening in the Philippines.

Under the present political environment, I cannot see a Salonga topping a senatorial election when we can have a Robinhood Padilla as the highest vote-getter in the senatorial elections. I dare the reader to also study who are the committee chairmen in the Senate and in the House. There are exceptional few like Sen. Risa Hontiveros, but who ever imagined that we would have a Robinhood Padilla as the chair of the committee on constitutional amendments.

Even his fellow senators must have realized this comic situation because they placed somebody else to head the move to amend the Constitution. But one has to wonder why they did not change the chair if he was not competent enough for the task to publicly defend any debate on amending the Constitution.

We are now witnessing the early days for filing COCs. But even at this stage, it is obvious that we are seeing a reflection of the darker side of Philippine culture.

Philippine politics has always been dominated by family dynasties. However, I do not recall a time when family dynasties are so widespread. Even worse, family dynasties have become so brazen that they do not try to excuse or hide family relationships. In fact, the opposite is happening, when family dynasties are registering as a family and are even publicizing their candidacies as a family.

One example is a candidate for governorship whose son is running as her vice governor, with the two registering together with a photo op of them side by side.

If we review the potential winners in the senatorial elections, there are candidates whose only credential is their family name.

The intellectual capacity of our senators and congressmen has been exposed due to the public hearings now being conducted in the case of Alice Guo and the POGO scandal. There have been serious complaints filed against Guo, including falsification of documents and criminal activities linked to the POGO and even espionage.

I was prepared to condemn Guo for all these nefarious activities. However, after the hearings, I must confess that I have begun to feel a tinge of sympathy for her. While she displayed a dignified behavior, remaining unbowed during all the hearings, the majority of our lawmakers resorted to badgering and behaving as if the hearings were a noontime tv gossip show. There were, of course, a few exceptions and I would like to point out again Sen. Risa Hontiveros as one of the few exceptions. One could notice that at times, some of the lawmakers would even resort to smirking.

The Philippine STAR editorial on these hearings was appropriately titled “Alice, unbowed.” Guo has also decided to file her candidacy for reelection as Bamban mayor. With the present state of Philippine politics, I would not be surprised if she wins reelection.

In the history of Philippine politics, there have always been self-serving politicians who have risen to political leadership. At the same time, in Philippine politics, there have always been principled persons who have managed to win despite their lack of resources. Some of these names are people like Magsaysay, Manglapus, Salonga, Diokno, Aquino, Rodrigo, Saguisag, Tañada, Kalaw, Laurel, Pelaez. They ran and many times won not because they were comedians, entertainers, macho, overwhelmingly wealthy and with reliance on a family name.

They were courageous, principled and intelligent personalities. When we vote this coming election, it is this kind of persons we should look for and support as much as we can. The country desperately needs this kind of servant leadership that can serve as a model for all of us, especially for the next generation.