So much for vows of sticking to an issues-based campaign. Marcos is the only candidate keeping his word as all the others have used one form or the other of “magnanakaw” to describe him. They have also gone back to the martial law narrative in a desperate attempt to win votes.
Split-tickets have also began popping up. There is IsSa for Isko-Sara. There is also Ping-Sara which came up yesterday in social media. You know desperate times require desperate measures and all of these are coming up just as the first Presidential debate nears.
All of these are manifestations of the defects of the 1987 Constitution. It is likely that the framers left these loopholes to be taken advantage of its proponents. Think of how there is no mention of a return to the two-party system, of strict regulations about turncoatism, no outright ban on political dynasties and the absence of tandem voting for President and Vice-President. The multi-party system allows for the election of a plurality President. This has been the case since 1992 when Ramos won with only 23% of the vote. All of these present workarounds for whoever is in power to take advantage of. We saw this in 2016 with Robredo’s “victory” over Marcos in the Vice-Presidential race.
Candidates trailing behind Marcos have no other choice but to go back to the martial law narrative in a desperate attempt to shore up their flagging campaigns and keep the funds flowing. March is going to be crucial. If there is no significant upward movement with bets of anti-Marcos and anti-Duterte oligarchs then we will see campaigns slow down for lack of funds.
Despite the gimmickry of Robredo’s campaign and the projection of “huge” crowds, she is still a far second to Marcos’ voter preference numbers. Isko is trying to get traction in his campaign going to the point that Lito Banayo has become a one-man team for Isko as strategist, spokesperson and chief cheerleader but all this and his appropriation of the DDS brand has not made an impact. He is in fact, being derided for his lack of principle in standing by his running mate, Willie Ong. Ping Lacson’s campaign has suffered a huge blow with the defection of NPC and NUP members to the UniTeam. Lacson and Sotto have come out in the open criticizing the martial law regime in reference to Marcos and there are also cryptic descriptive tweets about his rivals.
So much for an issues-based campaign from those who promised it.
The Catholic Church will not be left behind. Bishop Ambo David and Soc Villegas have already come out with statements against Marcos with their point of reference being Cardinal Sin’s role at EDSA in 1986. Unfortunately, Filipinos no longer profess blind obedience to the Church. The Catholic vote is no more even if these prelates claim otherwise. Their moral authority was lost as their duplicity became evident through the years.
There is also fear-mongering about how the Philippines will become an international pariah should Marcos win the Presidency. All references are made to the past, thirty-six years ago when the global economy was stagnant as a direct result of the US’ economic difficulties. The current fiscal position of the Philippines is sound given that credit ratings agency’s have not downgraded the country’s credit standing.
One cannot help but be stupefied by the stupidity of the opposition who do not have their fingers on the pulse of the people. It is apparent that the old strategies will not work anymore. The opposition would be in better standing if they cooperated with the Duterte administration on the basis of critical collaboration instead of trying to bring it down and conducting a local and international black propaganda campaign by branding Duterte as a populist-dictator and human rights violator.
The opposition is gambling on the youth and millennial vote but they forget that these generations were born after Marcos and came of age under their watch. They have a direct comparison of what they were born into vis-a-vis what the country has become under five years of Duterte’s Presidency. The achievements of the administration speak for themselves in the same manner as Marcos’ does thirty-six years after his fall from power. This is a gamble that is not certain to pay off.
March is the last full month of the campaign period as April will have a week off due to Lent. At this point, we can expect the attacks on Marcos to intensify seeing as how it seems mathematically impossible and practically improbable to overcome his lead over his rivals.
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