2016 Elections: One Student's View on the Philippines' Political Circus

Its one year and some months more to go before the 2016 Elections. And for some months now, the news on TV already reeked with the elections day after day.

Power Addiction

The Philippines is a country where most politicians fight tooth and nail to hold on to power. There is this supposed bill designed to discourage, if not eradicate political dynasty in the country, but even the dumbest observer would be willing to bet their lives that that is not going to be approved, ever. Many of the congress people - where the bill needs to pass- belonged to dynasties themselves.

In the Philippines, one can be elected for a seat in the congress, or other elective political positions for three terms. More often than not, most politicians wish to serve for more than the maximum term. If they wish to do so the law requires them to take a rest for one term, then he can ran for the same office again. What some politicians do is that they  would appoint a wife, a son, or a sibling to keep the office under the same family name, so that it would be easier for them to make a come back. Sometimes, the politician would act as a chief of staff, or an adviser of some sort. Other times however, he would run for higher office. If successful, he would stay there as long as the law allows, turning the wife/son/ sibling into another politician whose roads in  the political arena are mapped too. So its not unheard of, that a mayor of a certain town is the wife of the former mayor-turned-incumbent congressman, and that some members of the council are in some way or another, are blood related.

Will we ever see the abolition of political dynasties in the Philippines? Your guess is as good as mine.

There are also those who are so addicted to power that they just can't seem to let it go. Some are still in office way past their retirement age. After being in the chaotic world of politics all your working life, wouldn't one look forward to winding it down and do other stiuff?

There is also this one politician, who after serving the people at the its highest level of office still chose to run for congress. All in  the name of public service? I'd like to believe that it is.

Mudslinging

It s a fact that corruption is very rampant in the Philippines. Though not all the time, ordinary citizens see it in action if there is a need for us, private citizens, to transact with the government. Those who've been in certain businesses for sometime  already have a “budget” for “faster” processing of certain clearances. Fast means action within a week, whereas regular processing means months of follow-ups.

If its happening at the bottom of the ladder, how more much at the top where much can be taken?

If an elected official is doing certain things, when he aims for a higher office in the future, he'll be sure that his deeds will come back to haunt him. Political rivals wouldn't mind getting their hands dirty from digging of his past misdeeds. More than a year before the elections and the dirt of the politicians who openly stated their political ambitions are displayed to the public. Our politicians are so busy with their politics that the current affairs of the state and its citizenry comes second. They may deny this, but it sure seemed to be that way to ordinary citizens like me. I see that our politicians are really planning for the (their) future. I see it as the oiling of the gears of the political machinery.

Sorry Dude, You're Not in My Party

Working together for the common good despite their political differences is not in the agenda of most politicians. Though there are some who served with a heart, but sadly, they are so few you can count them with the fingers of one hand.

Whether politicians admit it or not, belonging to an incumbent's political party is a major plus factor. Among its perks is that he'll be prioritized for fund allocation. If an elected official does not belong, they're on their own.

There was a time when a mayor did not allocate budget for gas for garbage trucks for a certain barangay because he was at odds with the barangay captain that was not an ally of his. Though the captain found ways around it, it showed what most of our politicians are made of. The electorate knows better now, but sadly, the fools outnumber the wise.

Another perk if one is on the incumbent's party, is that, there is some sort of protection from all the mudslinging. Either those officials did not do one corrupt practice ( which I doubt), or its just swept under the rug.

Now if a politician found himself on the other side, he'd better brace himself for a hailstorm, because there'll be lots of them.

There was this incident during the Yolanda aftermath that the local government were given a hard time by national government, and one of the reasons is that they are of opposing political parties. The incumbent tried to deny it, but the emphasis of whose names are more powerful was spelled out- and caught on national television. Some observers were not as shocked by this behavior because in the previous month, a national official did not coordinate with the Local Government Unit because they are not allies. Instead, he worked together with a former congressman , which was the ally.

And here's a clipping from one of the local dailies.

Depending on the character of the next elected politician, if the wind will change, there's going to be vengeance, and the circus will continue.

After everything is laid out, it seems that most of my observations are negative.Maybe, I was just following too much politics, or watched too much news on TV. But I believe from the bottom of my heart, there will always be hope.

With the rise of the more educated electorate, gradually, we'll probably see improvement in the future.

Maybe, just maybe, these these men and women started out as people who honestly wanted an ideal Philippines. Maybe, they're still good people who just can't seem to untangle themselves from the stage props.

For now, the Philippines is a country where the political arena is a circus, but its not entertaining at all.