The farce continues

The farce continues.

Senator Francis Escudero

After junking its three guest candidates–Senator Francis Escudero, Senator Loren Legarda, and former chief censor Grace Poe–the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) tried to recruit replacements.  

UNA eyed evangelist Eddie Villanueva, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, and Bayan Muna party list representative Teddy Casino as replacements–but failed to get them.

Edward Hagedorn

Eddie Villanueva

Senator Loren Legarda

To counter perceptions that UNA was not attractive enough to entice even struggling independent candidates, it is now peddling a new line.

I caught Nancy Binay, a daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay and also an UNA senatorial candidate, mouthing this line (or words to that effect) on TV: We already junked three so why should we replace them with another three?

Teddy Casino

Hello, Ms. Binay!  You want a full slate because it indicates political strength.

Nancy Binay

Grace Poe

Don’t blame me but I was waiting for her to lapse into numerology.  Nine is lucky and 12 is a curse!

In the same news program, UNA candidate Tingting Cojuangco (aunt of President Noynoy Aquino) intoned: nine is lighter than 12.  We can do more when we are less and less if we are more. (Go figure!)

Tingting Cojuangco

Here’s another gem from UNA senatorial candidate JV Ejercito (son of former President Joseph Estrada): it is better to have nine united candidates rather than 12 who will betray each other.

Mr. Ejercito, I guess it is time for some education.  Every senatorial candidate is loyal only to himself.  Why?  Every other candidate is a rival; this is true even if the other candidate is part of your slate.  At the end of the day, only 12 of the candidates who received the highest number of votes will be proclaimed as senators.  How would you feel if you ranked 13th and a member of your slate was 12th and declared a senator?  Supposed the difference in your votes is only 200,000?   Will you not file a petition for a recount even if the person concerned is a member of your slate?

JV Ejercito

Elsewhere in this magical realist country and while a Team Pnoy rally was going on, local (Catholic) Church authorities in Bacolod City usurped the functions of the the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and ‘approved’ the electoral bids of senatorial candidates belonging to Team Buhay (Team Life) and Team Patay (Team Death).  Through signage on the Bacolod City cathedral, however, the preference for Team Buhay was apparent.  Both (Church) teams are bipartisan and were delineated by the candidates’ stance on the reproductive health bill.  For the Church, a vote for the bill means that you are in favor of death (i.e. abortion).

Tarps on the Bacolod cathedral

On TV, I heard the Bacolod bishop claiming they were not commanding voters to vote in a certain way.  The tarps were for the guidance of voters in the city.

Team Patay

Immediately afterwards, as if on cue, the COMELEC told the Bacolod diocese to remove the tarps.  Not for ‘usurpation of COMELEC’s authority” but because they exceeded the size of tarps allowed by the COMELEC! And the bishop said the Church will comply.

Elsewhere, some Filipinos (my kind of Pinoys) responded wisely and wittily.  They came up with their own team: Team Patay Malisya.  In local parlance, it may mean absence of malice, disguised malice, tongue-in-cheek malice, and so forth.  Translated literally into English, it is Team Death Malice.  Or Team Malicious Death? LMAO!

With guys like this, I think there’s hope for our country.

Politics as farce, or the absurd saga of guest candidates

I will be 59 years old this coming April and  if I had a few doubts before, now I am fully convinced that being ludicrous, ridiculous, and absurd is endemic and natural in Philippine politics.

Ludicrous politicians are aplenty during elections.  When it was announced last year, I am sure the sharing of three ‘guest’ senatorial candidates by both the administration and the opposition slates was insane.  First question: as guest candidates of competing slates, will they campaign with both?   Any campaign planner will immediately tell you that the idea will lead to administrative nightmares.  Campaigning with friendlies is already a problem.  How much more with canoeing in two rivers?

The ‘guest’ candidates

As it turned out, the ‘guests’ stuck with the pro-administration Team Pnoy in campaign sorties ‘forcing’ the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) to kick said guests out of their house.  

You think the absurdity ends there?  Absolutely not!

Re-electionist Senator Francis Escudero and newbie Grace Poe reportedly heaved a sigh of relief after getting booted out from UNA.  

Norman Bordadora of the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported today on Poe’s reaction:

“Parang nabunutan ako ng tinik [It’s like a thorn has been pulled from my side],” Poe told reporters who sought her comment on UNA’s move.

“When I learned that there were conditions [for being adopted by UNA], of course, I found myself in a difficult situation,” she added.

Poe indicated that she couldn’t go against President Aquino’s wishes when he says candidates have to be in certain rallies and campaign sorties—presidential preferences that could have meant Poe shunning UNA rallies during the campaign period” (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/362655/escurdero-poe-heave-sigh-of-relief-after-una-junking).

Grace Poe

I would like presume that Ms. Poe has a modicum of intelligence and should have realized that guesting in both slates will not do.  Why, even celebrities know that.  An ABS-CBN talent cannot just work with the rival GMA-7 network or even with ABC-5.

Escudero tries to but fails (miserably) to take the high ground.  Bordadora continues his report: 

“Asked if it was a relief that the issue of common candidates has been put to rest, Escudero said, “Yes, because this election has never been about petty issues of which rally you attend.”

“It was and has always been about platform, issues, principles and one’s genuine desire to serve the people faithfully and with integrity,” Escudero told the Inquirer”.

Mr. Escudero, the issue at hand is not petty. Let me explain in terms you can possibly understand.  You agreed to have two girlfriends; thus you have to take both, instead of just one, on a Valentine’s Day date.  If you have principles, you shouldn’t have two girlfriends in the first place.  Perhaps, expecting a politician to have principles is a tad too much.

Senator Francis Escudero

What about the third ‘guest’  candidate,  re-electionist Senator Loren Legarda?  

Bordadora continues:  

“Legarda said she has yet to be officially informed by UNA of its decision.

“But whatever happens my respect, regard and love for President Estrada, Vice President Binay who’s really dedicated and Senate President Enrile, to whom I am really close will never change,” Legarda said.

“So the friendship should not be affected,” she added”.

Senator Loren Legarda

Former President Joseph Estrada, Vice President Jejomar Binay, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile are the acknowledged “Three Kings” of UNA while President Noynoy Aquino is the principal campaigner for his team.

This issue shows the mix of personalism (e.g. Poe was invited by her ninong Erap, to be guest candidate and she’s is sad about the junking because Erap promised full support), sophomoric hypocrisy,  feigned naivete, and naked opportunism.  

Were we entertained by this theater of the absurd?