The composition of the slate of individuals who are offering themselves as Presidential candidates in the May 9, 2016 election cogently invites comparison with the Presidential candidates in the four general elections that have taken place since 1992.
The voters in those previous elections did not have to play with fire. On May 9 some voters will, by choice, be doing so. Recall the backgrounds, professional records and personalities of the candidates for President in the elections of 1992, 1998, 2004 and 2010.
The 1992 Presidential election, the first after the EDSA Revolution, was a contest of heavyweights. The seven heavyweights were a highly accomplished former First Lady (Imelda Romualdez-Marcos); an EDSA Revolution hero and former Secretary of National Defense (Fidel V. Ramos); the incumbent Vice-President (Salvador H. Laurel); a former judge and Cabinet member (Miriam Defensor Santiago); an incumbent Senate President and Constitutional expert (Jovito R. Salonga); one of the nation’s leading businessmen (Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr.) and the incumbent speaker of the House of Representatives (Ramon V. Mitra). Competence-wise and experience-wise, any of the seven candidates in the 1992 Presidential election would have been equal to the job of running this country. The voters knew who they were and whence they came. No playing with fire there.
The 1998 election was very much a straightforward affair; two gladiators standing in the sand and preparing to do mano a mano combat. The gladiators were the incumbent Vice-President (Joseph Ejercito Estrada) and the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives (Jose de Venecia Jr.). The two Presidential candidates were known to this country’s voters in every way. No playing with fire there, either.
The 2004 Presidential contest was, likewise, a straightforward affair. Two combatants (Vice-President-turned-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the beloved movie icon Fernando Poe Jr.) standing toe-to-toe, ready to slug it out for the nation’s No. 1 position. The voters were choosing between two well-known and very accomplished individuals. Again, there would be no playing with fire.
The 2010 election saw the son of former President Corazon Aquino (Senator Noynoy Aquino) pitted against a former President (Joseph Estrada) and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives (Manuel Villar). All well-known individuals. Likewise, no playing with fire was involved there.
The May 9, 2016 situation is different. This time around, this country’s voters are being asked to choose from a list of candidates that cannot be regarded as business-as-usual.
For starters, two of the five candidates are persons facing documented allegations of massive corruption while holding public office. The allegations have been denied, but no acceptable responses have been proffered by the two candidates.
And then there’s the fact that one of the candidates has in his campaign speeches been manifesting a disdain for the Bill of Rights, the Rules of Court, due process, the Magna Carta of Women and the concept of human rights.
In addition, one of the candidates is a person with very little exposure to affairs of state—true, Cory Aquino held no government position but she was married to one of the most active and most influential men in Philippine politics—and whose only real claim to fame is kinship with a well-loved non-politician.
Unlike in the four most recent elections, it is not possible to say that this country will be in good hands no matter who wins on May 9. It won’t. The election of any of the three candidates discussed above will be a setback for the wellbeing of the Filipino people and the further development of the Philippine economy. Whatever social progress and economic advance has been achieved in recent years—especially the expanded coverage of the CCT (4Ps) and Philhealth programs, the higher growth rates of the GDP (gross domestic product), the strengthening of the public finances and the improved international financial profile of this country—will be eroded at best and derailed at worst. The Philippines will be sending the wrong signal to the world.
Elections are times for choosing individuals who, by virtue of their characters and professional records, are most likely to do what is best for this country and the Filipino people. They are not occasions for playing with fire. Fires destroy structures.
When they cast their ballots on May 9, the voters should not play with fire.
E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com