Two issues that have something to do with the midterm elections in 2019 have been in the news. Critics of the administration are calling out Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go for taking advantage of his position to campaign early as he is rumored to be running for senator next May. He denies this.
To be fair to Go, whether he is already campaigning or simply helping people as he claims, there is nothing new with what he is doing. This has happened before. Has it not been common to see sitting senators with their big pictures on billboards endorsing products?
There is a big poster of Bong Go along the North Luzon Expressway saying “Go Philippines Go.” It is similar to what an enterprising former governor whose family name was Mayo did many years ago when he peppered his province with posters urging the people: “Bomoto sa Mayo.” What Bong Go is doing is what is called in the export control parlance as dual activity. It can be interpreted as campaigning as well as legitimate effort to help people as he is saying. Besides, was it not the Comelec that came out with the statement saying that there is no violation with early campaigning?
Those who are quick to criticize should perhaps chill a little. What matters in the end is whether Bong Go can win a slot in the senatorial race next year if he does run. We cannot begrudge him that because it is his right if he wants to run for public office. His critics may view him as undeserving but the Filipino electorate have elected all sorts of people—including clowns—as senators of the realm.
Bong Go, as his boss the President is saying, is the scion of the biggest printing company in Mindanao and may have something to contribute in the area of business if he wins. What he has to do is to navigate his built-in advantage in such a way that he will not be seen or portrayed as an eager beaver and turn the voters off instead of generating appreciation because of his genuine desire to help people. It is admittedly a tricky situation which must be executed professionally with the help of capable political handlers. In past elections, prospective voters tend to favor reelectionists and those come backing former senators but Bong Go can surmount this name recognition disadvantage.
He has now been in the limelight for over two years and has been crisscrossing the country lately making the usual rounds and has become the senior government official of choice to whom people go to for help especially those complaining of government inefficiency and those needing immediate emergency assistance. The huge advantage of a candidate being helped and endorsed by the President cannot also be underestimated. In the end however, it will still depend on Bong Go working hard to convince the electorate that he is worthy of their vote if he does run for the senate next May.
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But with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez saying that there is a strong possibility that the midterm elections might be postponed and that the way to eliminate political dynasties is to abolish term limits, prospective candidates will have to cross their fingers and hope that there will be an election.
He also said that the House of Representatives voting with two thirds majority can move Charter change forward even without Senate participation. This will undoubtedly add to the ranks of those already opposed to Charter change. Lack of time to work on the draft of the new constitution was the reason he gave.
But given that the Senate and House cannot seem to agree on what constitutes a constituent assembly, we are now actually witnessing a chaotic process. Time is of the essence here but it seems that our political leaders are moving as if there is no urgency of the situation. Maybe what some people are saying that all these are part of a plan leading to a no-election scenario is true. If such is the case, the actors in this drama are playing with fire. They are underestimating the desire of the people for an election. The best that our legislature can do now is sit down and resolve their differences so that Charter change can move forward expeditiously instead of issuing separate statements to the media complicating an already complicated situation. This is what the public expect of them.
It seems that even this is too much to expect from them. Our President who is the most important person in the equation should now step in and give his people their marching orders on what to do to save the situation. This is not the only problem of the government. Because the majority of Filipinos are against Charter change, there is a lot of work that has to be done to convince the voters that changing the constitution to make our unitary government become federal is good for the country.
But how can the public trust our political leaders when what they hear from them are simply those that will perpetuate them in power like eliminating term limits and postponing the midterm elections instead of ironing out the remaining kinks in order that the process can move forward? I hope there is still time given the magnitude of the problems cropping up not to mention some ideas coming out whether to synchronize the plebiscite with the May elections or hold it separate.