‘If it is true that her candidacy has a snowball’s chance in hell, why then do other candidates (and their supporters) continually react to whatever the Vice President does? If she does not matter, why expend all this energy to bring her down?’
FOR a while over the weekend, national politics was treated to a glimpse of the normal scenario in local politics — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, presidential daughter, gave in to the whispers of political power brokers and filed her candidacy for vice president. While the act of running for a national position wasn’t exactly news (it was quite obvious that this play had been run before by her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, back in 2015) what came as a surprise to administration allies was her decision to run as vice president alongside Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
As Sir Isaac Newton once said: “To every action, there is always an equal and opposite or contrary reaction.” In this case, the equal and contrary action was quite swift: by Saturday afternoon, just hours after the younger Duterte made her move, long-time presidential aide and Sen. Bong Go withdrew his certificate of candidacy for vice president and set his sights on the presidency instead. Equally interesting is the announcement that the elder Duterte himself is set to file his COC for vice president to Go, contrary to his own pronouncement last month that he will retire from politics after stepping down from the presidency. (Note: as of press time, the period for filing substitutions is still open.)
In short, dear millennials and fillenials, the electorate will probably be seeing a Marcos-Sara Duterte vs. Bong Go-Rodrigo Duterte face off in May 2022. It is a clash of local proportions (I refrain from describing it as “epic,” seeing that it is far from the truth) which represents the apparent rot in our political system. Apologists will excuse it as “democracy,” citing every citizen’s right to run for public office, but we see it precisely for what it is: personal and political interest converging and diverging as the landscape dictates.
It’s interesting that all this attempted consolidation comes in the wake of Vice President Leni Robredo’s announcement that she is gunning for the highest office in the land. Funny how her political opponents and observers have been dismissing her candidacy as dead in the water — she took too long to decide, etc. etc. And yet, we see in her supporters the very thing that seasoned politicians and strategists dread: makeshift signs, volunteer driven events… in a word, maskipaps. To turn a phrase, kanya-kanyang sikap. The jury is still out on whether she and running mate Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan have made significant headway outside of their traditional base, but one thing is certain: both have managed to energize their constituencies so effectively that people are going out and doing things by themselves to help get Leni and Kiko elected.
Take for example that nationwide caravan which reportedly gathered 10,000 vehicles. So much he said-she said online (“elitist,” “small,” “drop in the bucket,”) but did anyone notice how other candidates quietly followed suit and launched their own? If it is true that her candidacy has a snowball’s chance in hell, why then do other candidates (and their supporters) continually react to whatever the Vice President does? If she does not matter, why expend all this energy to bring her down? You see, once again, this is a classic case of actions speaking louder than words. Their own actions betray their bravado; despite pronouncements to the contrary, it would be unwitting to count her out just yet.
But make no mistake, she and Sen. Pangilinan have a long and tough road ahead of them.
Both will have to break more glass ceilings in order to win, especially in the face of the consolidation of other political groups bent on preserving (or regaining) political power, armed with no machinery and no money. They will have to be wiser in spending the little resources they have, smarter in deploying their strategy, and more realistic about the bets they make throughout the remaining months. One thing is certain: VP Robredo and Sen. Pangilinan need to rely on the muscle willingly provided by their volunteers to buoy their numbers, and to get their message of hope across to every Filipino voter, from Aparri to Jolo.
