The Third Force

In the past week, the news was dominated by events that were linked to politics. Although viewed separately, these events could all be viewed as connected.

The first one was the result of a Social Weather Stations survey for the coming senatorial elections. The results had several important findings. There were 13 candidates named for the top 12 positions. The last three were all tied for the 11th, 12th, 13th positions. Out of the 13, eight belonged to the alliance identified with President Marcos. Three belonged to the Duterte camp. One was running as an independent and one from the traditional opposition, previously identified with Leni Robredo. This last one was former senator Kiko Pangilinan of the Liberal Party.

It has been pointed out by several political observers that the two candidates who have spent the largest amount for advertising did not make it to the Top 13. There is also much speculation as to why Sen. Imee Marcos, sister of the President, did not make it to the Top 13. This had led to the speculation that the reason is that although she is part of the Marcos ticket, she has publicly expressed her sympathy and support for Sara Duterte and does not join any of the Marcos-sponsored events. She has, however, continued to remain in the Marcos ticket. This has led to accusations that she is trying to run simultaneously in both camps, which may have led to her being junked by some politicians in both the Marcos and Duterte camps.

Some political pundits are now speculating that while Imee might officially stay in the Marcos ticket, she may be unofficially dropped by leaders of this ticket. The speculation now is, who will be her unofficial replacement?

Political analysts conclude that it definitely will not be one of the Duterte allies who will take Imee’s place. The choices now seem to be limited to either Tulfo or Pangilinan. If Pangilinan is chosen, this will certainly boost his chances of winning in the senatorial contest.

Last Friday, there were several different rallies organized to protest against corruption and a call for political reform. Some of the groups also called for the impeachment of Sara Duterte. One group was composed of La Sallian students, educators and other participants from nearby schools. The event was held near the St. La Salle Hall and was called “One Taft Candle Lighting and Prayer for the Nation,” a symbolic call for political reform and accountability.

The ceremony was organized by the DLSU Committee on National Issues and Concerns and DLSU Student Government together with representatives from St. Scholastica’s College Manila and the cause-oriented group called “Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance.”

A second group gathered around the People Power Monument. This was led by the Akbayan Partylist and representatives from the Liberal Party and other groups, whose main call was for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

A third group held their rally at the EDSA People Power Shrine, led by some members of the Catholic clergy and retired generals. The most prominent personality in this group was former Justice Antonio Carpio.

According to Carpio: “We are here because we want the 2025 budget to be corrected. There are serious unconstitutional faults and mistakes.”

The same group condemned the zero allocation to health and the inadequate budget for education. They also condemned the appropriation for the Department of Public Works and Highways, which was intended for pork barrel.

My personal observation is that the different groups should find some way of uniting and coordinating a single rally for their next political event. Media observers said that the combined rallies actually had thousands in attendance and would have had a much bigger visual impact if they had combined in a single rally.

I was later told that there was in fact two other rallies. One was held Friday morning and the other one was held at the Liwasang Bonifacio later in the day.

One sad news during the week was the passing away of Cong. Edcel Lagman, the president of the Liberal Party. He was truly a principled politician who accepted the leadership position when the Liberal Party was at its lowest point. As of this writing, there has been no successor to Lagman that has been named. The ideal person for this position would definitely be Leni Robredo. She would bring star power and motivate more people to actively participate in campaigning for the Liberal Party in the midterm elections. She can still run for the mayoralty position in Naga City and occupy the position of Liberal Party president.

At this point, it is evident that the real opposition to the present administration, in terms of ideology and principle, is not the Duterte group but this coalition of the Liberal Party, Akbayan and other like-minded groups.

There needs to be a formal alliance to project a united front that will distinguish this group from both the Marcos and the Duterte camps. This is the Third Force that is needed so that the people’s choice is not limited to two family dynasties.