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By Julius F. Fortuna, Columnist
The inauguration of the
multiparty system, enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, has
invariably transformed the mode of election campaign for elective
positions in our Republic.
The role of political parties in
the selection of candidates has diminished. The individual, not the
collective, is preeminent. It now seems that the popularity of a
candidate, more than the political machinery that boosts his bid, is
the greater factor for the victory of the candidate.
Examples of popular individuals
who rose in national politics after EDSA I are legion. Former
President Joseph Es-trada, Vice-President Noli de Castro, Ramon
Revilla Sr. and Jr., Sen. Lito Lapid, the late Fernando Poe Jr.,
Loren Legarda, and Tito Sotto 3rd. They are only some of the
political personalities who gained power, or had political impact,
after the death of the two-party system that was in place from 1946
to 1972.
Estrada and Co. are not party men
or women, unlike the senators of post-war years who were known by
their membership and loyalty to their parties. These new celebrities
in politics were all created by media and cinema, and not by
political parties. Did Estrada and Co. ever passed the party
convention before they were allowed to run for office? Of course
not.
This is not to say that these
political superstars didn’t adopt parties to support their
ambitions. Joseph Estrada had his Partido ng Masang Pilipino while
Tito Sotto 3rd has his own party of convenience. (He started with
Kampi). But they were not institutionally identified with a party,
unlike party-men like Cornelio Villareal of LP or Amang Rodriquez of
NP.
In Great Britain or in the United
States, it is the machinery that matters. Popularity is important,
but always secondary. What you call a candidate is really first
nurtured by a political party before he is endorsed to the
electorate. Hence, one can hardly find a candidate in London that is
not first endorsed by either the Labor or the Conservative party.
The same is true in the United States where, ironically, we
patterned our political system.
Hence, in the US and UK,
candidates backed up by strong machineries invariably get elected.
There are some cases where celebrities like the late President
Ronald Reagan or California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger get
elected. But they were, above all, men propelled by political
machineries because they were endorsed by their parties.
On the Democratic Party side,
former President Bill Clinton relates in his book My Life how he had
to get the support of the Democratic Committees which form the base
of the party all over the country before he decided to run for
President. Only after getting the support of the local committees
was Bill emboldened to fight in the national convention.
One notes that in the Team Unity
and GO selection process for the senatorial line-up, both parties
never went through a convention. The two line-ups were chosen by
President Arroyo, for the administration, and former President
Joseph Estrada for the opposition.
The growing influence of media,
specially the spread of television as a medium, has opened politics
to those in the media profession. Loren and Noli, at separate times,
topped the senatorial elections, because of their exposures to
television.
On the part of Noli, he has
remained a partner for governance and an ally of President Arroyo.
But he does not feel compelled to be a member of GMA’s party. He
remains a member of the Wednesday Club which supports individuals
coming from both parties.
Machinery or popularity? The case
of Senator Francis Pangilinan should be instructive. Supported by
his wife, megastar Sharon Cuneta, Pangilinan is definitely popular
among the voters. But he has chosen to become independent from both
parties which, in effect, deprives him of the machinery. 
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