In this year’s senatorial elections, the Genuine Opposition is by all indications leading the race. What will it do if it is cheated – or it does win?
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat
ELECTION WATCH
Vol. VII, No. 14 May 13-19, 2007
In this year’s senatorial elections, the Genuine Opposition is by all indications leading the race. All credible opinion surveys point to the Genuine Opposition as very likely to win the majority of the senatorial seats up for grabs in this year’s polls.
In its website, the Genuine Opposition describes itself as “the umbrella political coalition party of the opposition’s senatorial and local line-up for the 2007 Philippine Midterm Elections.” It is further described as a “multi-party and multi-sectoral coalition” which includes the United Opposition (UNO), the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Aksyon Demokratiko, PDP-Laban, the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (Party of the A Filipino Masses), and a number of civil society groups.
Its candidates for the 2007 senatorial elections are: Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Alan Peter Cayetano, Anna Dominique “Nikki” Coseteng, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Loren Legarda, John Henry Osmeña, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Sonia Roco, Antonio Trillanes IV and Manuel Villar.
The Genuine Opposition’s lead in all credible opinion polls shows that the coalition will win hands down in a clean and honest election.
The coalition’s lead over the administration’s Team Unity ticket is interpreted as a reflection of the electorate’s disgust with the Arroyo administration – which is under fire from various quarters for massive human rights violations, corruption, and imposition of policies described as “anti-national and anti-people.”
In what direction is the Genuine Opposition headed? What will it do if it is cheated in the coming elections? What will it do if it does win in the coming elections?
This interview with lawyer Adel Tamano, the Genuine Opposition’s spokesman, aims to provide answers to these questions.
How does the Genuine Opposition assess the conduct of its campaign thus far?
From the surveys, consistently we’ve been doing quite well. The surveys have been consistent that at least seven to eight of our candidates will come in.
So within the context that we don’t have much funds and logistics, and our opponents have so much funds and so much logistics, and we’re the underdogs because we’re not in power and yet in the surveys we’re leading – I think that’s a testimony to the effectivity of our campaign.
Many are curious about why the Genuine Opposition did not field candidates in many of the local positions. Is there an explanation for that?
We have 50 percent of the candidates for provincial posts, we have 69 percent in the congressional districts, 25 percent of mayoral posts. Now, it may appear that we have a shortage of candidates.
But we have set up already an anti-poll fraud team that would cover 95 percent of municipalities. Because the next question would be, “How can you protect your votes?” In spite of the lack of candidates, the scope, the reach of our pollwatchers will be enough.
The Liberal Party, which is part of the Genuine Opposition coalition, has been accredited as the dominant minority party. Because of that, they will be able to get the election returns at the municipal level, which is the primary document used for canvassing and to assail the canvass.
So that is where we will get our protection.
As a related point, we don’t really believe that there is a command vote anymore, in the sense that Filipinos are maturing politically. So in spite of the claimed command votes, I think the Filipinos will really choose to vote on their own, regardless of what their political leaders say, and we’re putting our hopes on that also.
Team Unity spokespersons have been going around the entire country telling people that their so-called “political machinery” will ensure them a 12-0 victory in the coming elections. What do you make of this?
You know, I was just at a forum with Noynoy Aquino, and what he said was good, he had good insights.
In 2004 he campaigned with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was a part of their slate, he was actually administration before, and he joined the opposition only in 2005. They campaigned really hard throughout Luzon then.
This is the same machinery, basically, that they’re tapping for the 2007 elections. And in Luzon in 2004 – and it was just one person that they were really pushing for, it was just GMA. GMA only won in two provinces: Pampanga and Tarlac. So this goes to show you that this machinery actually, it’s vaunted, but in real practice, in application, this showed the weakness of the machinery. Because in 2004 they were campaigning for only one person, and yet she only won in Tarlac and Pampanga, which is her own base. Now they’re campaigning for a full 12 slate, and as Congressman Noynoy said – since he has been in elective office for nine years – if you ask the local leaders to add one or two candidates to the senatorial slate, it’s easy… But once you start doing four, five, six – the local officials will say, boss, that’s no longer easy, because the amount of work they will have to do – first to campaign, if the candidates are really palatable; and if they’re not palatable, to cheat in order to get that result – it would just be too much for the local candidates. So on the basis of that, he sees that it’s not gonna happen, this 12-0 boast. It’s not gonna happen. It’s been proven. It’s really not possible.
