“And we just have to grin and bear these bailes politicos because we have to live with the flawed 1987 Constitution, because it seems that not in our lifetime will our leaders muster the political will to revise our political system”
I wanted to title this piece “changing partners,” but very few will relate to, neither recall, that old song that my late mom used to play on our old “hi-fi” phonograph (that’s what they called the turntable then) when I was a child.
Googling the lyrics, so appropriate even for these times, we find “though we danced for one moment, and too soon we had to part…and I’ll keep on changing partners.”
So I used the Spanish “baile” which is also the Bisaya term for dance, which is what our politicians always do insofar as their politics is concerned.
The species used to be described as “political butterflies” at the time when we had two parties, the Nacionalista and Liberal, until Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, frustrated during the first half of his term by an opposition-controlled House, decided to install Capiz representative Cornelio Villareal as speaker by a mass turncoatism of Nacionalistas into his Liberal Party.
A year after, Liberal Party senator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. turned coat from his party and joined the Nacionalista Party through the sponsorship of the speaker Villareal through Macapagal deposed – Jose Bayani Laurel, and from there launched his successful presidential bid in 1965, thereafter ruling for more than 20 years.
Blame it on the constitutional aberration we have refused to change since its inception in 1987 — a multi-party set-up within a presidential form of government.
Butterflies like honey bees just flit from one partner to another, every six years or even more often, but instead of mere turncoatism, they have found a new device: inventing new parties.
Maybe it’s akin to artificial intelligence — just create what you find more convenient, and pretend until the next season for utilitarian change.
Time and time again I have derisively called out our political parties as nothing more than flags of convenience or vehicles for personal ambition or vested interest promotion.
And it looks like even under a president with a sizable majority in last year’s elections, the first since we adopted the 1987 Constitution with its series of plurality-elected presidents, we will continue to be dazzled by the “bailes politicos,” the dance of the politicians.
But the species can be likened to “mirlitons,” which the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky immortalized in the Nutcracker Suite, the “Dance of the Mirlitons.”
Mirlitons are similar to our Spanish-inspired “barquillos,, thin sheets of cookie pastry rolled into a reed-like shape, hollow inside but temptingly crunchy and sweet, a perfect accompaniment to coffee or ice cream.
Ilonggo and Pampango pastry chefs have made versions where they fill the barquillos or mirlitons with chocolate, ube jam or polvoron, which our colonists called barquiron, which is similar to why our politicians change political parties, better described as “partners,” to fill their hollow selves with graces from above, either in projects or pork barrel.
Take the latest version: the Kilusan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, which is a take-off from the National Unity Party (NUP) and the defunct (?) KBL or Kilusang Bagong Lipunan of the late president Marcos Sr.
Our politicians have run out of creativity, as witness how our parties are all plays on trite name descriptions such as nationalist, democratic, unity, strength, and the now old-fashioned liberal, masa, progressive, and are there any others?
Former VP Leni Robredo even decided to junk her Liberal Party in 2021 without forming another party. She just changed colors from yellow to pink, her followers calling themselves “kakampink,” while detractors called them “pinklawan.”
Oh, of course! “federal” too, which became in fashion since 2015 when the city mayor of Davao went around the country bandying the uneven distribution of national government resources as battle cry for the presidency, yet filled his long-winded speeches with his hatred for illegal drugs.
Right after the decapitation of PGMA as senior deputy speaker, Mayor Albee Benitez of Bacolod organized his KNP (some say because they are “kulang ng pansin”) out of PDP-Laban stalwarts, who of course, prior to 2016, were also Liberals, and before that Lakas, some even LDP or PMP in earlier existence.
And who are the former PDP-Laban stalwarts?
Former Comelec Chair, MMDA and old-time Mandaluyong mayor Ben Abalos, actor turned mayor then representative for Ormoc Richard Gomez (what about the beautiful Lucy Torres-Gomez, now mayora de Ormoc?), Cabanatuan’s Ria Vergara, San Jose del Monte’s Rida Robes (who before joining PDP was a staunch LP supporter of Mar Roxas till the very last), Cagayan de Oro’s Rufus Rodriguez, and Manny Lopez of Tondo, Manila, among others who swore by PRRD’s PDP now headed (and bank-rolled by Palawan’s Pepito Alvarez).
Key word is “nagkakaisa” which is Tagalog for “uniting” as distinguished from “nagkaisa” which literally means “united.”
Obviously, unity is “for now,” meaning until it’s time to change partners again.
Remember the KBL, where both the Liberal and Nacionalista stalwarts of yore joined forces to support the vision of the authoritarian ruler, which was to transform the ancien societe to nouveau, only to create a squadron of nouveau riche or cronies?
What vision does the “bagong” KNP support? E di unity, ano pa?
Not to be outdone, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas announced that it is still alive and kicking, even if they were unheard of in the “particion de bienes” after June 30 last year, and were outdone by Lakas, NUP, NPC and a few others when spoils were distributed.
To prove they were yet relevant in the politics of the benighted land, they held an oath-taking of new member-recruits, mercifully held in Malacanang (mismo!) with the president (otro mismo!!) officiating the turncoatism.
And who were the new recruits into the party held alive by South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo, Sr. and Gen. Thompson Lantion?
My friend Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib, a former Speaker Bebot Alvarez loyalist, Zamboanga Sibugay’s Gov. Anne Hofer and former Liberal Party stalwart Batanes Gov. Malou Cayco, along with all her mayors who collectively control as few votes as a medium-sized Manila barangay.
That gave the lie to what many of the political “marites” thought, that the Partido Federal died after Vic Rodriguez left Malacanang.
Are they resurrecting the party used by PFRM Jr. in 2022 to likewise revive the call for federalism, as the name of their party implies? Not really.
The official statement merely pledges their support for the decision of the president to remain as agriculture secretary. Neat.
Expect more re-alignments next year, when the filing of COCs begin for the mid-term elections.
Some super seniors, octogenarians +++ like the fabled Juan Ponce Enrile – probably recall the “rigodon de honor,” a colonial celebratory relic revived from Commonwealth to Third Republic and until PFEM Sr’s last dance in Malacanang.
But we cannot describe the bailes politicos as a rigodon, which evoked nobility and etiquette.
None of which exist these days, even in the Senate of 24 republics, if we are to believe Senators Drilon and Lacson instead of the highly popular man called Robinhood.
And we just have to grin and bear these bailes politicos because we have to live with the flawed 1987 Constitution, because it seems that not in our lifetime will our leaders muster the political will to revise our political system.
The House can huff and puff as long as they want, their intentions for revision suspect.
The Senate will always think of themselves as the “august,” even if they do not truly represent the different tribes that make up this nation, and choose to preen on their celebrity credentials to stay in their chamber, decorum and intellection wanting.
And our president does not see charter change as important, preferring instead to focus on the impossible dream of 97.5 percent, now 100 percent rice self-sufficiency.