While Albay Rep. Joey Salceda and Rep. Sol Aragones of the 3rd district of Laguna who are running for governor openly expressed their support for Vice President Leni Robredo's run for the presidency, that is not the case in Occidental Mindoro. The symbolic and actual raising of hands is yet to be seen.
Surprising
I am somewhat surprised why the top local political leaders belonging to the Liberal Party or the PDP-Laban and the rest, as of this moment, are not yet openly declaring who they will support in May 2022. As seen in the past elections, their open declaration came before the national campaign started. Rightly so, perhaps because the official campaigning for locally-elected positions will only start March 25, 2022.
I would not be surprised if even the opposing or rival politicians vying for the same position would go for the same president or vice-president in the end. I will tell you why.
Campaign funds should not be the ultimate factor in endorsing a national candidate, specifically for the presidential and vice-presidential positions. Good politicians, especially the incumbents, endorse a candidate because they know that they’re the best person to hold political office such as the presidency. Ideally, that is the case but in real life it’s different. Way, way different.
In the natural course of things, making an assessment of whom to endorse involve a lot of factors about who the candidate is, what they stand for, and what their goals are. Gone were the days of such statesmanship in politics.
I have heard from the grapevine that a huge amount of money is being offered in some provinces just for local political leaders to endorse a certain presidential candidate. Reportedly, it’s to the tune of 50 million pesos for an aspiring governor and Php 3oM plus for the incumbent or aspiring mayor. And I would not be surprised too if some quarters here in our locality would push for Leni-Sara or other possible "combinations".
Just being practical?
Most of the candidates intend to win “by hook or by crook”, especially in a competition as stiff as the next polls, most of them think in “practical terms”. What is important to them is to improve their chances of winning and be winnable whatever it takes and ultimately win. There is a big chance that rivals vying for same position in certain municipality would support the same moneyed presidentiable, the "highest bidder".
We do not have a law on political butterflies or turncoats so it became normal for them, the traditional politicians, to change loyalty or to abandon their hard-earned principles and long-cherished life values in exchange for their current political agenda. The politicians whose character is ever-changing like a weathervane will still prevail with the absence of such a law.
Free zones?
Gov. Eduardo B. Gadiano and congressional aspirant Leody Tarriela attended the Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio kick-off campaign for the May 9 elections at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. Gadiano and Tarriela are not members of Marcos Jr.’s party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP). They filed their candidacy under Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan or PDDS of Sen. Bong Go. Go already withdrew his candidacy leaving the supposed dominant party with no standard-bearer for 2022. Their support for Marcos Jr. is not yet officially cemented despite this fact. Suffice to say that it’s not as solid so far as the support has been thrown to Marcos Jr. by Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba and Narvacan Mayor Chavit Singson.
On the other hand, as of this posting, it’s "all quiet on the Western Front" as far as Sato’s side of the fence is concerned. All the local politicians under her tutelage are also silent including the mayors belonging to the Liberal Party. Reportedly, there are still no instructions coming from her. But now, her supporters can only speculate that since Cong. Sato is a true-blooded Liberal Party (LP) honcho, he will endorse Robredo.
If this situation becomes permanent, placing their respective municipalities as “open city” or “free zones” is not a remote possibility. Every incumbent official or campaigner under her team can welcome or accept whoever candidate that would come to their jurisdictions or each of their party mates could endorse openly or discreetly their preferred candidates for president and vice-president.
Not only liquids are fluid these days.
In the past
In case you are interested in knowing how Occidental Mindoro voted for presidents and vice-presidents from 1992 onwards, you can read my previous blog entry that can be accessed if you click THIS link.
Fast forward to 2016. As one of the top brasses of the Liberal Party (LP), Sato openly campaigned for Mar Roxas in the latter’s presidential bid in 2016.
The final tally in Occidental Mindoro as far as the presidential result in 2016 is concerned is as follows: Mar Roxas convincingly edged out his closest rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP-Laban. Roxas received 72,644 votes while Duterte only got 38,701 votes. Early favorite Jojo Binay (UNA) came in third with 37,886 votes.
Judging only from the result of the 2016 vice-presidential race, Occidental Mindoro is not a Marcos country. Leni Robredo also got a big margin, earning 79,411 votes. Robredo won over Marcos, Jr. who only garnered 57,115 votes. It was the only time in post-EDSA elections when a tandem, Roxas and Robredo, won in the province endorsed by a sitting politician by the name of Josephine Sato, then LP’s secretary-general.
Believe it or not, Roxas and Robredo won here in our province despite Duterte’s arrogance, social media lies and him being a populist national leader. And that is something that we all could be proud of today when he is about to finish his term as a reign of combined terror and humor.
By the way, to this very day, Duterte still holds his ground saying that he will not endorse Marcos Jr. or any candidate for president. For the “resibo”, just hit THIS.
Patronage Politics
If endorsement impact remains at the backseat of a political wagon, why local politicians are still doing this? But before we answer that, let us go to the 3 major things to consider in one’s campaign: volunteers, voters, and financial campaign contributors. Endorsements, compared to the animal kingdom, just prey to attract the predator (read: money and volunteers) and hope the majority of the voters will follow. These three things need to be considered over and above one’s political platform and/or party affiliation, including strategies and mechanisms.
Endorsements are only indicators for voters as to whether or not they could be comfortable with their chosen candidate but it can never be a driving point in any electoral contest. At the end of the day, the endorsers’ campaign will be prioritized and given more weight and importance.
Another thing is certain: the nasty Patron-Client
relationship does not only exist between the politician and the voter but
between local politicians and national politicians as well.
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Photo: Manila Bulletin
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