Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has so polarized the country that one is either pro or anti, no in-betweens. The UNO senatorial candidates, in particular, and the anti-Arroyo movement, in general have their political differences, as the administration is wont to point out. But Arroyo has pushed them together against her.
BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
Bulatlat
The battle lines have been drawn. As of this writing, only the four members of the so-called “Wednesday Group” namely, Senators Joker Arroyo, Ralph Recto, Francis Pangilinan, and Manny Villar have to make up their minds. Villar has already made it clear that he is definitely not running under the administration ticket.
In the senatorial elections, it is the slate of the United Opposition (UNO) versus the “Team Unity” of the administration. Even if the four members of the Wednesday Group opt to run as independents and the administration wants to call its slate as “Team Unity,” the coming elections would still be a battle between two camps: a choice between the pro-Arroyo and anti-Arroyo. Some call it a proxy war between Arroyo and Estrada, but even as the former president has a lot of influence in UNO, he is not the common thread that binds the slate.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has so polarized the country that one is either pro or anti, no in-betweens. The UNO senatorial candidates, in particular, and the anti-Arroyo movement, in general have their political differences, as the administration is wont to point out. But Arroyo has pushed them together against her.
The UNO was able to form its senatorial slate early on. It even had to contend with fall-outs from those who could not be accommodated such as Tito Sotto, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, and film actor Richard Gomez.
While the opposition had difficulties paring down its slate, the administration had to resort to what it calls “Team Unity,” to justify its raiding of the opposition camp. There are simply not too many candidates in the administration who have a chance of winning. To fill up its slate, the administration even eyed movie actors such as Cesar Montano and Edu Manzano, in addition to Richard Gomez.
The opposition is riding high, topping surveys. The most recent Pulse Asia survey showed the opposition, with the inclusion of the Wednesday Group, getting the top 18 positions. The administration ticket is in a precarious situation considering that only 12 positions in the Senate are up for grabs. This is consistent with earlier surveys by Pulse Asia, SWS, and Ibon Foundation. The opposition candidates earned popularity because of their critical stance against a very unpopular president. No other Philippine president had to contend with negative ratings for so long.
On the other hand, the administration candidates are being weighed down by the crisis of legitimacy of the Arroyo administration, the worsening political killings, forced disappearances and other human rights violations, and the oppressive economic policies and additional tax burden imposed by the government.
Not only administration candidates in the senatorial slate would be affected. The same is true for its candidates in the lower House. They would have to contend with both their identification with the Arroyo government and their performance at the local level. Representatives such as Edcel Lagman and Luis Villafuerte would have to answer for the fact that they were busy maneuvering to have the second impeachment complaint junked while their constituents were suffering in the aftermath of typhoon Reming. Likewise, other administration representatives had demonstrated their “blind-dog” (bulag na tuta pa) loyalty to President Arroyo on national television and radio when they, irrationally and without the benefit of due process, used their numbers to junk the impeachment complaint.
