Before you celebrate, look at the bigger picture
Posted on 05-12-10 · Sassy Lawyer Tags: 2010 elections, government, politicsIt’s two days after election day. While the final result of the vice presidential race is still a question mark, it’s quite safe to assume that Noynoy Aquino will be the next President of the Philippines. Those who voted for him and those who supported him are already in a celebratory mood. Those who voted feel they have participated in a democratic process that will bring about change.
Change. That’s what everyone wants and expects. People are so doggone tired of the poverty, the hopelessness and the never-ending bickering among politicians. Well, maybe, not all. There are people and institutions that make money by highlighting the bickering. Like mass media.
Are we seeing the dawn of a new era? Is change — real change — finally imminent? Personally, I have no high expectations of Noynoy Aquino and I’ve already said my piece on that subject (in a column that I can’t find right now — basically, being an Aquino, which he has always capitalized on, is not per se a qualification).
But to further answer that question, let’s look past the presidential and vice presidential races. Let’s start with the top 12 in the senatorial elections. The topnotchers are Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada. What exceptional achievements have they accomplished as senators to deserve the most votes in last Monday’s elections?
Miriam Defensor Santiago has the qualifications and the experience but I am wary about her ability to switch political loyalties.
Then, there’s Juan Ponce Enrile, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos’ Secretary of Defense. Marcos — the man who ruled as a dictator for 20 years, the man who imprisoned so many innocent people, the man who abolished Congress, rewrote the Constitution and robbed us and our children of a comfortable future. And Enrile was part of Marcos’ administration in all those 20 years.
From 1966 to 1968, he was the Undersecretary and sometime Acting Secretary of the Department of Finance. He concurrently became acting Insurance Commissioner and Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs. From 1968 to 1970, he became Secretary of the Department of Justice.
In 1970, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense. (Wikipedia)
In fact, Enrile was Marcos’ personal lawyer before he became President. But what do people know and remember of Enrile? Only that he was part of the tandem that turned against Marcos in 1986 during the People Power Revolution. The other half of that tandem, Fidel V. Ramos, Armed Forces Chief of Staff in the Marcos administration, was elected President in 1992.
It just seems to me that men are judged by their last action. It just seems to me that people do not deem it necessary to recall what their personal roles had been in the 20 years that Marcos ruled. It just seems to me that Marcos was punished and driven out but Enrile and Ramos were rewarded because they were wily enough to know when to switch political loyalties.
It’s been 24 years since the People Power Revolution and look where we are. Fidel Ramos served his full term as President; Enrile became the 26th Senate President. And the Marcoses are back in power. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is assured of a seat in the Senate after serving as Vice Governor, Gorvernor and Representative of Ilocos Norte over the last 20 years. His older sister Imee has been proclaimed governor of Ilocos Norte. Their mother, the indescribable Imelda, has been proclaimed Representative of Ilocos Norte.
Many people think that it’s time to let bygones be bygones — that the events that preceded the People Power Revolution of 1986 are in the past and that the sins of the father should not be the burden of the son. But this is politics — Philippine politics — where personal agenda are always part of the picture. Imelda hasn’t even taken her oath of office yet but she is already talking about the vindication of Marcos.
From ABS-CBN:
Meeting supporters in the northern province of Ilocos Norte, the 80-year-old said her triumph in Monday’s elections would help disprove charges that her late husband was a corrupt dictator who led the country to ruin.
Then she expressed her support for Noynoy Aquino and his commitment against corruption.
How can she talk about vindicating Marcos’ name and supporting Aquino in the same breath? The Aquino family is still living under a cloud of doubt as, to this day, no one really knows who ordered the killing of Ninoy although no one disputes the fact that it was Ferdinand Marcos himself who threw him in prison.
And the fact that three Marcoses will be holding very high government positions at the same time screams “political dynasty” — a scenario echoed all over the country. The Ejercitos in San Juan, the Binays in Makati, the Belmontes are doing it in Quezon City, the Angaras, the Osmeñas, the Arroyos, the Cojuangcos, the Rectos… the list goes on and on. Heck, even the Cayetanos are into it. Pia and Allan Peter at the Senate, brother Lino as representative of Taguig and Allan Peter’s wife as mayor of Taguig.
And people are expecting real change after the dust of last Monday’s elections have settled?
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it is a very pitiful situation… we can only hope, pray and do our share (however small it may be and wherever we may be)…
Tita, you forgot the Eusebios of Pasig. *sigh*
It’s really interesting. Noynoy said he won’t allow relatives up to the 4th degree of consanguinity to hold government positions. I wonder who will be his advisers, and cabinet members.
Elaine, pitiful, yes, but who elected these people?
Ceia, buhay pa ba yung tatay? Re Noynoy: he won’t appoint relatives up to the 4th degree but he cannot prevent relatives within the 4th degree from running for elective posts — from barangay captain all the way to the Senate.
In Philippine politics, only the first names changed. The last names are the same all through out the years.
You are right wala ni isa man sa mga ito ang may remarkable achievement. Imagine pati si Lani Mercado uupo sa congress. Hayyy…what kind of government are we going to have? When congress and senate are mentioned, the only thing I could think of is a place for entertainment.
When I was checking at early election results and saw Erap coming in second, I said, “what???!!!”. Everything just got worse from there. The same in our city although Lucy won only one person from the independent party secured a seat as councilor. Umulan daw ang 20-100 pesoses. P20? The reality that people’s votes can be bought for such a pittance is really, really sad.
“Umulan daw ang 20-100 pesoses.”
In some places, the vote buying consisted of lunch boxes.
Let’s not forget Boxer Congressman Manny Pacquiao and ex-president congresswoman Gloria Arroyo
Filipino’s should not only blame their leaders but also themselves
Ah those two deserve separate write-ups.
we are a laughing stock.. magaling lang talaga tayo magtiis.. that’s all we do, endure.. its sad
The ViXeN’s LaiR
Isn’t it part of Catholic teaching that suffering is something noble and holy?
It’s also part of Catholic teaching to systematically hide sexually abusive priests for decades while silencing the victims, so I’m not so sure the church really works as a proper gauge for “morality”.
I don’t think it works as a gauge for anything except that it’s a good study on how to control the people through a mixture of fear, ignorance and guilt.
I wanted Noynoy to win which is actually happening. But that is only the beginning of the struggle to come. There is nothing to celebrate there. It is all an uphill battle from here forward. Noynoy vowed to go after Arroyo and put her accountable.
President Arroyo, a master tactician is not short of moves either. It is far from over. She skilfully thrown the gauntlet at Noynoy yesterday by appointing her former chief of staff Renato Corona as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Certainly, Noynoy will not take his oath of office under Justice Corona which Noynoy planned to impeach. This is only the second time that a president took oath under an associate justice instead of chief justice (the first one was Noynoy’s mom). The appointment was to put Noynoy in another protracted battle at Congress with no direct path to Arroyo. Alliances at Congress is up for grabs and the new president cannot duplicate Arroyo’s use of pork barrel.
With only one term of four years, Noynoy needs to pick his battle.
Six years. The president serves for six years.
Thank you.
Politics in the Philippines is a big, big joke and it is sucking all my brains out. I have no more energy to think. I feel so exhausted everyday after watching the news. I’m glad Noynoy is winning but, like his mother, he will be taking over a super corrupt administration. I just read that Gloria “thick face” Arroyo just appointed the new chief of justice. I also read that she’s likely to gun for House speaker post. This means she’s out but will be back soon. It seems like she will get whatever she wants. I hope Noynoy will keep all his promises. I know he’ll need help, lots of help, and hopefully, he will be able to make major changes for our country. I’m praying. I’m really praying for him and our country.
“ Meeting supporters in the northern province of Ilocos Norte, the 80-year-old said her triumph in Monday’s elections would help disprove charges that her late husband was a corrupt dictator who led the country to ruin.
Then she expressed her support for Noynoy Aquino and his commitment against corruption.” – Ms. Connie Veneracion
Oh, oh…they’re baaaack. Does this mean Ferdinand Marcos can finally sneak into the burial place of legitimate heroes inside the Libingan ng Mga Bayani? Just asking.
I think that’s one of the least serious repercussions. Think, instead, of how textbooks will be rewritten and Marcos will henceforth be called a hero and a visionary — and a victim of injustice. Haaaayyyy…
“Think, instead, of how textbooks will be rewritten and Marcos will henceforth be called a hero and a visionary — and a victim of injustice.” – Ms. Connie Veneracion
‘
My point, exactly. If they transfer him inside the ‘Libingan ng Mga Bayani,’ they’d be able to twist some facts and 3 or 4 generations from now, he’ll be transformed into a legitimate hero.
I guess I’ll have to secure a copy of Primitivo Mijares’ “The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda…” and pass it on to my children and their children’s children.
Just in case some bright politician makes an attempt to rewrite history.
Waaaa…Ms. Connie two lang sa mga binoto ko ang lumabas sa senado… Akala ko mga pinoy wanted change, puro lumang politoko pa din ang mga nanalo. I am no longer excited kasi it will just be the same all over again. Sana I am wrong and things will get better for our country. May God help us all!
Change can only take place when people starts to vote using their brains instead of their stomachs. The question is when.
Some people think that’s easy to say for people who aren’t starving. Personally, I’ll never understand why the masses vote as they do, I can only surmise based on trends and statistics. What I do know is that I RESENT having to suffer from their decisions. The many are not always right in choosing what’s best. But then again, isn’t that what we call democracy?
@Connie,
I realized that the Philippine elections are closer to being democratic than U.S. because the electorates count more than the popular votes. The presidential candidate can lose by the numbers of electoral votes even though he or she won by popular votes (which is the Philippine style election) Some critics say it’s less democratic and I do agree with them
but hey at least you’re not bothered by the likes of Erap being your president simply because the majority chose the wrong person. hahahaha.
You’re referring to the electoral college in the US?
Yeah. They often refer them as electoral votes or electorates to distinct them from popular votes.
The members of the college are obliged to vote according to the popular vote although there had been instances when this wasn’t followed. And with the size of the US, counting and tallying Pinoy style will probably give way to too many electoral protests hahaha
It came to my mind that if the electoral colleges are employed in the Philippine setting, it’s actually a lot easier to cheat since the electoral votes count and they are much smaller in numbers. It’s going to be like the highest bidder wins the auction kind of scenario. Nakakatakot wag nalang!! hahahaha
No, that’s called mob rule.
Shouldn’t a democracy protect the interests of the minority as much as that of the majority?
Exactly. There ought to be a check and balance mechanism.
I’m tempted to call for a mandatory IQ test for ALL voters, but I’d probably get labelled some intellectual elitist by the pro-masa politicians and activists.
In any case, how do we make it that only those with a decent amount of common sense get to vote?
Gee, I wish we could. Even education is not a good standard.
That’s why I said common sense.
I am astounded by the sheer amount of stupid I tend to hear from people in RP who supposedly have various degrees in management and IT -related courses that have made my mass comm/journ degree look feeble in comparison.
Bloody brilliant in their chosen discipline, but complete idiots in simple matters such as logical reasoning.
Bro, not in our generation.
But if I had my way (and this is impossible under our Constitution), I will make it a requirement for all voters registering with the COMELEC, to present their latest income tax returns before they are registered as voters. This way, only taxpayers are able to vote and not those untermenschen, squatters and dregs of society who sell their votes to the highest bidder.
Well, proof of residence is a requirement to become a registered voter. There ought to be a distinction between legal residence as against illegal residence which would disallow squatters from voting. But then again, no politician will support a position like that because the poor constitutes a huge chunk of the voting population — more, in fact, than legit taxpayers. And there are those who argue that since they do pay VAT (they eat at Jollibee and McDo, don’t they?), then, they are taxpayers too.
I really agree to each and every thought in this post. The problem is, Filipinos never learn from the past mistakes. Parang may amnesia lagi. Maghahalal, tapos magrereklamo, tapos ihahalal ulit, tapos magrereklamo ulit… and so on.
Ms. Connie, curious lang ako… was there a local politician or a government official that you have admired or at least the one you considered as different from the rest? I, for example, can consider the likes of Juan Flavier to be admirable, if you know what I mean.
Well, the only one ran for a seat in Congress, didn’t win, then got assassinated. I’m speaking of Lean Alejandro. I did the legal work during his campaign (although hell knows how many other lawyers tried to take credit for that).
Oh, ok. Thanks!
People talk of “change” all the time but when I look at where we are now and what we’re looking forward to in the near future, people don’t really want change: they want more of the same.
What irks me the most is the idea that Erap actually had chance of becoming a president again. (Partially thankful that Cory died when she did to prompt Noynoy to run.) What part of ‘a convicted criminal’ don’t these people understand?
Our country is on a cultural and political loop.
What part of ‘a convicted criminal’ don’t these people understand?
They probably think it was just a role in some movie.
But, seriously, I think it’s the PARDON part that most people don’t understand. They equate it with a NOT GUILTY verdict. And, since his release, Erap has been smart enough to keep talking about his “innocence.”
The pardon was a big mistake. HUGE.
“They probably think it was just a role in some movie.”
hahahaha, that cracked me up. lol
True. The PARDON was a BIG MISTAKE!
1. That only shows that majority of Filipino voters are “bakya” crowd.
2. The rest who can better understand are hold hostage by these majority votes.
3. Estrada would have been the president if the INC solid votes did not go to Aquino. The bloc vote is enough to overcome the difference between the 2 candidates.
4. We would have been numero uno jokes around the world had Estrada won the presidency – the comeback of a convicted felon.
5. Once again, the crafty Arroyo almost got her political insurance when she issued the pardon had Estrada prevailed.
Item 3 is incorrect, the difference may be over 5 million while the INC is placed around 2 million.
I agree. It was a mistake. I saw it as a political maneuver to gain some brownie points from the masa.
At any rate, I do hope Noynoy fulfills his promise to go after the corrupt. (But I’m not really hoping to much from that though. Hehe)
I voted for Gibo. The last two weeks of the electoral campaign turned out nasty and disheartening. Suddenly Gibo seems like the quiet one and please pardon me for my ignorance in political issues and dynamics but it seems like I really can’t pin anything sordid about Mr. Teodoro. So I voted for him at the last minute. Even if I knew there’s no way he will win the presidential race.
Well, Gibo is less prone to theatrics, I’ll say that for him. And he was a quiet guy back in UP Law. Did not seek trouble, did not pull antics… Just can’t take that they were Marcos loyalists and I shiver to think that, if he had won as president, how favorably the Marcoses would be treated. Nightmarish, considering they seem to be inching back to power convincingly.
Oh! I didn’t know they were Marcos loyalists.
Yep, I wrote about it last year. Face off: Cojuangco vs. Cojuangco. Forgot to reproduce the column here.
Thanks, Connie.
People did not realize that Gibo was a Marcos loyalist. Then another presidential candidate who is very good in micro managing, turning around a would-be economic disaster and can speak clearly the direction and priority he has to take for the country is Gordon. To me he is the perfect candidate. But he was also a Marcos loyalist.
Villar used his SGV experience to bankrupt a bank, get state aid to finance his real estate business and used his influence to get C5 project financed by the government and his real estate being the largest beneficiary. And Villar was not even president yet. Eddie Villanueva is a socialist. That is a bad recipe. You don’t want the state to become the main employer. Of course, Jamby who sued her relatives to get a piece of fortune she did not work for, should never be a president.
So between a convicted felon Estrada and Noynoy? We got what we want.
This blog post plus comments pretty much sums up everything I feel. Lol. Arrrgh I hate hate hate the immaturity of the voting masses. And they expect change? Tawa na lang ako. As for Imelda winning and supporting Aquino in the same breath, it’s just plain CRAZY.
At least based on the number of votes that erap got it’s now easy to say how many Filipinos are complete idiots.
CRAZY… idiots… yeah, well, I’m tempted to check the thesaurus for synonyms but you sum up the Imelda and Erap angles nicely, Belle and Geekay.
I think the reason why he got so many votes are.
1. FPJ fans are supporting him.
2. Most of his fans are still alive and registered voters.
3. Mindanaoans prefer Erap as he’s the only president in recent years who was able to put an end (albeit temporarily) to the ASG. There was a report I watched which said that most voters from Mindanao will support a candidate who was able to help them.
4. He’s a good actor.
5. He’s in favor of death penalty.
Honestly, I almost voted for him because I want his approach to the implementation of peace and order specially in Mindanao. I also think that he’s not the type who’ll cheat in an election as he has won for every post he ran for except the most recent one.
The journ student in me absolutely loathes Erap for his attempts at bullying news agencies that tried to report the corruption allegations raised against his beer buddies.
That, and he comes off as a drunken buffoon.
In light of the doomsday sky is falling scenarios that DIDN’T happen, let’s lighten up and try to look at it this way : I think we’re just one big sweltering disjointed but happy family with suicidal tendencies. We’re not much different from the Italians where we look at politics, food, family, power, love, corruption, murder in the same light. That said, cheers to the new il Capo di tutti capi!
The comparison with the Italians make it almost sound romantic. But it isn’t hahaha
true. our national song isn’t exactly the love theme from ‘the Godfather’ but more like that fingernails on the blackboard korean pop ditty playing nonstop nowadays.
Philippines is probably more family mafiosi than the Italians as each family claims sovereignity over certain territory for generations.
“Sempre Famiglia”!
sass is chin wong selecting those images on your posts? absolutely brilliant photo choices in editing.
Nope, I get them from PicApp. Free stock photos. Just embed and presto! See? I learned enough from my almost 5 years writing for a newspaper kahit na I never set foot sa newsroom hahaha