“The 12 names belong to re-electionists, comeback kids and the newbies who aren’t really that new.”
(Part One)
We have these spectacles every three years, almost like an Olympiad every six and in-between, an Asiad, where the focus of attention for national media are the participants in the Senate circus, and for ordinary folks, the focus is on the local fights.
Last Thursday, the President announced the slate of his Alyansa ng Bagong Pilipinas. The 12 names belong to re-electionists, comeback kids and the newbies who aren’t really that new, because they belong to established political dynasties who want to join the chamber of men and women who refer to their 24-man club as “august.”
Re-electionists are Pia Cayetano of the Taguig dynasty, Imee Marcos of the Ilocos Norte ruling family, Francis Tolentino of the southern Cavite dynasty, and movie actors who have also carved their own dynasties: Lito Lapid in Pampanga and Bong Revilla in the northern part of Cavite closest to Metro Manila.
Then we have the comeback kids, two of whom are no longer kids by age: Ping Lacson, again from Cavite but with no dynasty, Tito Sotto who has carved out a dynasty in Quezon City, but with roots in Cebu and Nueva Ecija, and the world-renowned pugilist from Sarangani, Manny Pacquiao.
Then there are those who seek to replace their “graduating” kin: Camille Villar who seeks to replace her mom Cynthia and join her brother Mark, and Abby Binay to replace sister Nancy. Again, both are from entrenched political dynasties. Another member of a political dynasty, this time in Mandaluyong, Ben-hur Abalos, and one whose media-renowned family is carving its own dynasty, Erwin Tulfo, who wants to join elder brother Raffy, even as another sibling, Ben will run as an independent.
Whatever is new about the Bagong Pilipinas slate? Bagong Pilipinas, lumang mga mukha? Still, the President calls them the tried and tested.
Ponder the geographical representation in a nation of tribes populating our islands:
One is from Mindanao, one from the Ilocos, one from Pampanga, three from Cavite, six have known Metro Manila as home all their adult lives.
Arguably, some are tested in the realm of public service. Others are tested in the ability to gainfully use their pork barrel entitlements, through many, many years in the chamber.
If the BP slate wins by a hoped-for landslide, we will have two Villars, two Cayetanos, two Ejercito/Estradas, two Tulfos, but if one other brother running outside the BP makes it, as he is making it in the early surveys, there will be three Tulfos in the chamber.
Ang saya–saya!
If they all vote as one, they can refuse to ratify a treaty. They can even tilt the balance for or against the impeachment of any official the House sends to them for trial.
Measured by the surveys done in end-August till the start of September, the BP ticket has a preponderance of potential winners. But a lot of things can yet happen till the “fat lady sings” the people’s aria.
For one, Senadora Maria Imelda Josefa Marcos, better known as Imee, announced last Saturday that she prefers to run as an independent, even as she offers “her heartfelt gratitude to President Bongbong who, despite the anger and extreme cruelty of some, came to my defense and included me…”
May pinapatamaan…sino kaya sila?
Of course it is difficult to campaign on the same stage where lurk those who have nothing good to say or wish of you. For Imee, it may have been a case of “nagpaka-totoo”, which is her Imee-solusyon for the predicament she finds herself in for speaking her mind out and remaining friendly to Inday Sara whom she goaded to run as vice-president in a Uniteam that has unraveled so soon into a Humpty-Dumpty.
If the “alyansa” chose the names of erstwhile political enemies because the surveys say they are strong, and once again to try projecting a “unity” slate (that word, again?), wait till they get elected and begin to feel like the “republics” that they shall become after May 2025.
Will they remain true to what their campaign manager, Toby Tiangco of Navotas with the Romualdez wife intoned, as “supporters of the president’s legislative agenda”?
Why did Ping Lacson, right after his proclamation as a certified BP candidate, issue a brief statement that said, “Ang tama, patuloy na ipaglaban; ang mali, patuloy na labanan”?
Is that a portent of how the Bagong Pilipinas with the “lumang” slate will get challenged by the re-constituted 24 republics after the elections, and especially as 2028 gets nearer?
Strong slate because of high name recall, but will they remain strongly allied with their new “Alyansa”? Abangan!
