What we need to do is to change our mindset and end our tolerance for mediocrity and thievery, but that is too hard. It’s easier to vote for someone and blame him for everything that goes wrong. After all, we believe there is nothing government cannot or should not do. Hence, a politician’s worth is measured by his dole-outs. It is also rare to hear a politician or an elected official explain that all government programs cost money, which has to be collected from someone. Whenever the prices of gasoline and other commodities increase, for example, the people expect the government to “do something.” Like what? “Subsidies.” Where will we get the money for that? Blank stare.
It seems that government officials, most of whom are highly educated, believe that the people are too dumb to know how the market works, and what the law of supply and demand is. Back home, we assume that prices go up because of greedy businesspersons and their lackeys in the government, who should have “prevented” these “unfair” price hikes. The current and, thank God, outgoing president studied at Georgetown and has a Ph.D. in economics, but she recently imposed price controls on fuel, which was an immensely popular move until it resulted in scarcity and the shutdown of gasoline stations whose owners refused to buy something that they could only sell at a loss. When the price control was finally lifted, consumers ended up paying high prices anyway. So they lashed out at their government for “not doing something,” not realizing that the government just did something and it made it worse for everyone.
There are, in any case, nine official candidates for president. But because each needs at least $22 million in campaign money, only four have realistic chances of winning in May: Sen. Noynoy Aquino, Sen. Manny Villar, former President Erap Estrada and former Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro.
Aquino, 50, is the only son of two iconic figures in our nation’s history: former President Cory Aquino and former Sen. Ninoy Aquino. Noynoy is seeking the presidency not because he wants to, like his father, but because he has to, like his mother. Cory, a “mere” housewife, agreed to run against Marcos in 1986 to prevent the opposition from fragmenting. It was her husband, however, who seemed destined for the highest office of the land. Ninoy, at 17, was the youngest correspondent to cover the Korean War. At 21, he was already an adviser to then-Defense chief Ramon Magsaysay. At 22, he became the youngest mayor ever. At 27, the youngest provincial vice governor. Two years later, he was already governor. In 1967, he was the only opposition candidate to win a Senate seat. He was 34, the youngest to be elected to the upper house. Everyone expected “Wonderboy” to become president in 1973 at age 41. But President Marcos declared martial law in 1972, abolished Congress, padlocked the media and arrested his political enemies, among them, his number one critic, Ninoy. He was charged with subversion, sentenced by a military court to death by firing squad and jailed for eight years. In 1980, he and his family were allowed to fly to the states so he could undergo a bypass operation.
Awarded a fellowship grant by Harvard and the MIT, Ninoy in the states gave a series of lectures and speeches critical of the Marcos regime. Upon learning that his old rival was sick and probably dying, Ninoy announced that he would return to the Philippines in the summer of 1983. He wanted to help ensure a peaceful return to democracy. He was warned, however, that the regime might finally finish him off. “So be it,” he said. “The Filipino is worth dying for.” When the Philippine government refused to issue him a passport, his sympathizers secured him a new one. The Philippine government then announced that it would deny landing rights to any airline that would bring Ninoy to his native country. So Ninoy flew from Boston to LA to Singapore, before heading to Hong Kong and then to Taiwan, which no longer had diplomatic relations with the Philippines. On Aug. 21, 1983, a Sunday, his plane from Taipei landed at the Manila airport. “I may not be able to talk to you after this,” he told the reporters who were with him before he was escorted by three armed military personnel. On the tarmac, Ninoy was shot in the head. In the statement that he wasn’t able to deliver, he said: “I have returned to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedom through nonviolence. I seek no confrontation.” He had to die so that a nation of cowards, as Montana Sen. Mike Mansfield once called us, could find the courage to win back our freedom.
Ambitious, witty, charming, outgoing and a gifted speaker with a rapier-like tongue, Ninoy was everything that his son isn’t. Noynoy is a reluctant politician. And that is precisely what sets him apart from his opponents. He is running because his country needs him. His people need a president who is not a crook. Will we see significant improvements in the Philippines if Noynoy becomes president? I don’t think so. What I do know is that if he is president then there will be at least one person in the government who is not corrupt.
Villar, 51, is Noynoy’s main opponent. A multi- millionaire, he has estimated that a presidential candidate, to have any chances of success, should have up to $66 million in campaign kitty. He has that money. Not surprisingly, he has created the most impressive coalition in this year’s elections. And by impressive I mean disgusting. He is supported by the Maoists, the Marcoses, Manny Pacquiao and the current president’s minions.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is constitutionally barred from seeking another term and her allies must now flock to a candidate who may win in May. They can’t get into Noynoy’s tent because the Aquino camp considers the Arroyo presidency a communicable disease.
In the latest survey, Noynoy had a 12-point lead against Villar. If the race becomes tighter, however, the Arroyo machinery might just put Villar over the top. This should give Money Villaroyo, as he is now called, six years to recoup his “investments” in this election.
Estrada, 73, has been allowed to run because Arroyo doesn’t believe he can win. She’s right. But right now, Estrada is helping Aquino by blasting Villar for treachery and for “stealing” the former president’s “pro-poor” platform.
Teodoro, 46, is the second cousin of Noynoy and has the most impressive credentials among the candidates. A Harvard lawyer admitted to practice in New York, he was a House member for nine years before serving as Arroyo’s Defense secretary when he was 43 — the youngest person to hold the position. He is also a licensed commercial pilot and a colonel in the Philippine Air Force Reserve. His three-year stint as Defense chief impressed a lot of observers, including those who despise his despicable boss. The ruling party’s money is supposed to make him a viable candidate, but he’s not doing well in the surveys and, as I’ve said earlier, Arroyo’s people are now placing their bets on Villar.
Over 48 million have registered to vote, and the turnout is expected to be again over 80 percent. It will be the Philippines’ first automated elections which means that you can only cheat through vote-buying.
God help us all.
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