When it comes to our local politicians and the dynasties that they are trying to build, it has become big news these days when they end up facing serious opponents in upcoming elections.
They have seemingly perfected the art and science of the “political coalition” which basically means that before the elections, they talk amongst themselves on who will run and rule next, which for them, helps them avoid having to face serious opposition and election spending. Once the decision is made, usually with the blessing of the local kingmaker, they proceed to the next stage of their political careers with confidence.
Of course, every now and then, an upstart blindsides their convenient plans, such as the cases of Kabankalan and Silay, where surprise candidates were able to eke out an unexpected win, but for majority of our towns and cities, elections are usually easy wins where the outcome has often decided by the politicos amongst themselves.
Their idea of unity and cooperation is that they get to decide among themselves who will rule. No electoral battles, no unnecessary spending, no need to debate or present a platform. They can do this here in Negros because the two dominant political factions, the United Negros Alliance and Love Negros, have entered into a coalition where they settle who gets to wield the power of the local government unit, not via elections, but through internal negotiations and horse trading.
While this works for the politicians, it is hard to see how it benefits us, their constituents, who have basically been deprived of choice, since the remaining “opposition” groups that aren’t included in their grand coalition usually have less resources and influence, making upsets quite rare. But when those do happen, it hopefully inspires those who are still considering going into public service without having to kowtow and go through the current self-proclaimed gatekeepers of power and their “bulletproof” system.
The flaw with this system of theirs is that it cannot be sustainable since a power duo or family can keep hold of power over a town or city in the province for so long, before someone decides to give them a proper challenge, and surely there must be a shelf life on how a political party or coalition can dictate which one among their favored ones can keep running for a finite number of public offices.
The UNegA-Love Negros marriage of convenience started in 2019, and is mostly focused on the governorship, so after a few election cycles, it should become clear to the other members of their party that have their own ambitions and ideas of public service at their own local levels, on how exclusivity is being given more weight than inclusivity. When that becomes clear, the coalition is sure to fracture because breaking away is the only way another candidate can run without having to get the clearance of a big boss who has their own selfish agenda.
In places where members of the coalition with equal “rights” to the post won’t give way, the solution has been to declare it a “Zona Libre” or free zone. That frame of mind is interesting because isn’t that what elections are supposed to be in the first place? An opportunity for the people to freely choose their own leader via the ballot? Anyway, maybe that is just from the point of view of the politicians, who obviously want to control everything to their own benefit, so we shouldn’t nitpick their choice of terms. After all, most of us don’t even understand how political parties work these days, where it seems that the only ideology they have is winning and staying in power for as long as possible.
The sad thing about all this is that even if we get an independent or third party person with the potential and capability to bring forth actual change, to score an upset and win against the coalitions and parties and its king makers, the chances of them turning balimbing and joining the dominant coalition party is always there, given the mentality of the typical Filipino politician who is always pragmatic whenever consolidating their hold on power is concerned.
After all, isn’t almost every politician in this country a balimbing who will inevitably change parties to the winning one at the drop of a hat? Take a look at their exodus after every presidential election, from the time of Noynoy to Digong to Bongbong. As soon as the winner is declared, most politicos who were in the other party start flocking to abandon their loser party for that of the victors’.
Anyway, as the politicians of our land negotiate, strategize, and plan their pursuit of power, we should also at the very least try to do something for ourselves and our communities, and the future of our children. We don’t have to run for public office or start a political party, but now that it’s election and campaigning season once more, maybe we should at the very least put a little more work into looking at the qualifications and track records of the next batch of candidates who will determine the future of our communities.*
