Shunning Traditional Political Parties, an Act of Political Suicide?

Because both parties did not carry any clear platform, it could not count on a steady mass base of members coming from the citizenry. The machinery and resources of both parties were almost the same, with the party in power, of course, enjoying the advantage because it was able to use the resources and machinery of the government. However, it also bore the brunt of the anger and frustration of the citizens, majority of whom suffered in poverty. Thus, even if the party in power enjoyed an edge in terms of machinery and resources, it was readily replaced in times when the economic crisis was at its worst.

Politics and elections in the Philippine are much worse after the dictatorship. Opportunist politics are at its worst. Political parties spring like mushrooms, each hardly distinguishable from the other. Every time someone wants to seek the highest position in the land but is not supported by any party, he or she establishes a new party. All political parties are thus, small when not in power, even the oldest ones the Nacionalista and Liberal parties. Only the party in power becomes the largest because politicians join it to get their share of the government’s pie.

However, the vast machinery and resources of the government hardly matter during elections because the economic crisis worsens by the day. It did not spell victory for former speaker Ramon Mitra in 1992 because the country was in crisis since the late 80s and early 90s; he did not even place second to Fidel Ramos who ran under a new party Lakas-NUCD and won by a slim margin against Miriam Defensor-Santiago who heads the People’s Reform Party, another small party. Neither did it catapult former speaker Jose de Venecia to Malacanang during the 1998 elections; he was defeated overwhelmingly by Joseph “Erap” Estrada – who also established his own party the Partido ng Masang Pilipino – because de Venecia was weighed down by the flawed policies of the Ramos government, which made the country vulnerable to the 1997 financial crisis that hit Southeast Asia. It mattered only to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 when she was defeated by the late Fernando Poe Jr.. She was able to ‘ensure‘ that she won by one million votes courtesy of former Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of the “Hello Garci” fame.

Did Escudero commit political suicide by bolting the NPC? It remains to be seen.

But one thing is clear, the parties of the front liners in the race for the presidency Senators Noynoy Aquino of the Liberal Party and Manny Villar of the Nacionalista party are not yet that big especially compared to the ruling party. Nor could they be differentiated by platforms. Both are merely riding on the unpopularity of the Arroyo administration without presenting clearly how they would run the government differently or what change they would bring about.

Regardless of his motivations, Escudero made a bold move by shunning traditional political parties and articulating what the Filipino people have been hoping for, a government not tied down by political debts. He also declared that he is against oil deregulation and labor contractualization – two policies being pushed for by progressive organizations that politicians would not want to touch with a ten-foot pole for fear of losing the support of foreign and local big business. If that is committing political suicide, at least it is a step toward the right direction. Frankly, it is the trapos who pretend to be different from their counterparts in government but turn out to be the same or even worse once they are in power who should commit suicide, if they do they would be doing the Filipino people a big favor. (Bulatlat.com)