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From informal or anecdotal surveys, there is not much
excitement about who will be elected and who will not, among the
electorate. There are no overt commitments, passionate positions or
happy choices. It feels like a duty and a chore to plain, ordinary
people who will cast their ballots. Only those making a living out
of the exercise are in an energetic mode with the hiring of casuals
to help out in some form or other and the other members of the
support services for candidates as well as printers, transport
people, food services.
Otherwise, ho-hum is the tone of
those without relatives in the running or an income in the making
during the elections. Most people are involved in fiesta
preparations, religious ceremonies like processions, sports events,
tourist highlights to which political campaigners latch on because
of the dismal numbers that election rallies attract.
But one must not discount the
drive for power, dynasty building and providing for future
generations that propels candidates forward tirelessly and
indefatigably. Watching them at work produces in the rest of the
observers an exhaustion that enervates them from participation in a
meaningful way such as discussion and debate could do with what
could be issues seen and commented from different points of view.
Another observation is the lure
to Church officials to take definite positions on individual
candidates. Voters seem to be of two minds regarding this interplay
of Church and state relations. In Cagayan North I was surprised to
see a town mayoralty candidate posting a picture with the Archbishop
of Pan-gasinan holding his arm on high in the hackneyed photo of
support for a candidate. No one could explain why the Archbishop of
Pangasinan had a political view or influence in a province not
within his religious jurisdiction.
Now the trend is for the
religious aggrupations to follow church leaders who take specific
candidates for endorsement. El Shaddai and the Jesus is Lord
Movement have publicly declared their inclinations regarding
candidates with the outright motive of making their followers vote
for them as a block. They may be discerning the good from the bad to
guide their flock as well as building up a block of chips to cash in
with the powers that be come post election. Indeed, it is very
astute, if in many ways, cynical.
The dynasty issue is reaching its
level of extreme ridiculousness with husband versus wife in some
Panay town (Sara, Iloilo) as well as father versus son in the
Camarines Sur gubernatorial race. Cousins, even siblings run against
each other and electoral contests are between families. Now within
the same families. Could this be the beginning of the end for
dynasties? No, I do not think so, there is too much at stake. They
will consolidate their forces when truly threatened. Right now they
have so much room to maneuver for being the ones in place and with
the means to buy votes, not necessarily literally as in cash
distribution (though there is that too), but in exchange of
services.
The usual excuse is that the
dynast is really Robin Hood giving to the poor. In reality, he is
frying them in their own lard by taking their taxes, wages and
necessary infrastructure funds and giving them the crumbs via
handouts like funeral expenses paid, medical missions, basic
services that should be part and parcel of governance, not charity.
The economy is supposedly an
issue. This administration has provided 24 months of growth, an
unprecedented feat compared to other administrations and times. The
peso and dollar exchange is favorable to the general public. Yet,
somehow there is too much hunger, deprivation, homelessness, unmet
medical needs, poor educational facilities for a large part of the
population making one wonder who and where are the beneficiaries. A
few are much too benefited and very visible and the rest are
invisible.
What is all too visible is
corruption. Everyone sees it and feels it. It is everywhere and
documented. It is definitely not identified with one administration
or two but society as a whole. We are in a worrisome corruption rut.
Until society, the majority, are
led to believe and to feel that corruption can and should be done
away with, and a strong leader with a doable and inspired plan is
found that will engage the citizens enough to fight to win against
it, there will be no excitement or hope in electoral exercises. It
has come to that, a crisis in leadership that no election can solve.
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