The Irate Spectator

It has been months since my last post. It's not that my highly sensitive sense of moral outrage has lessened. I'm just either too busy or too lazy. But I digress.

All these cheesy commercials keep reminding us that the bourgeois charade of democracy called the elections are now near enough for the numerous presidential aspirants to obsess themselves with catching the public eye. It seemed only yesterday that candidates tried to outdo each other in projecting the hip pro-youth persona by championing education and the kabataan. Again we find sanctimonious political dinosaurs lecturing young people on how much the country needs them, about how we need to be involved in choosing our leaders, how they are so unselfishly committed to the cause of future generations and how crucial the youth vote will be in 2010.

Please. Tell that to the schoolchildren who trek for five hours to get to their dilapidated schoolhouse and share their textbook with three other classmates, to the families of the murdered student leaders and campus journalists whose killers remain at large. Tell it to the university student who has to quit school because he couldn't affor to pay for his "right to quality education" and tell that to the girl who got pregnant and doesn't know who the father is or the gay kid who can't go inside his school for "cross-dressing". I supose I'm not the only one feeling too busy or too lazy.

Pardon my cynicism but as a Political Science Major and student of Philippine Politics, I have lost the luxury of blissful ignorance. A semester and a pile of reading materials on this subject and I look at the beleaguered Arroyo Administration besieged by Hello Garci and ZTE and I flash back to the 1950s when Elpidio Quirino facing accusations of fraud and violence in the 1949 elections (which by the way is considered the dirtiest Philippine election, that is, until Marcos took dirty to new heights) as well as numerous graft scandals finds an impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives with his name on it. Familiarly, his Congressional lap dogs squashed the complaint when it was put into a vote an omen of things to come. My bottom line, it all happened before and it's all gonna happen again. Even if we keep reshuffling the people we're all doomed unless we change the system.

Of course, like any good Catholic, i give the politicians the benefit of the doubt and to see what they had to say for themselves I stayed up to watch the ANC Leadership Forum last night where rumored presidentiables(actually announcing candidacy would prevent them from prematurely campaigning after all) answered a few queries courtesy of ANC and the Ateneo School of Government. Present were Senators Mar Roxas, Chiz Escudero, Dick Gordon; Governor Ed Panlilio and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, Mayor Jejomar Binay and Sen. Ping Lacson were also invited buts sadly couldn't make it.The questions ranged from the personal (What was the last book you read/movie you watched, Which person inspires you?) to the serious political ones (Would you join a coalition with Manny Pacquiao's Party?Do you support an investigation on the Arroyos alleged corruption?).

Ex-priest Among Ed sounded, expectedly enough, like our parish priest. He talked about St. Paul's open minded leadership style and how corruption is not just endemic to government but in the whole of society and requires a regeneration of moral fiber to combat. Gordon appeared dull and boring, perhaps overshadowed by his more charismatic fellow speakers. He kept on droning about Thomas More and Lord Acton while the moderator was calling the time. He did give an emotional account on how his father, the American-born mayor of Olongapo killed by political opponents, inspired him to enter public service, choking up when he quoted Lorenzo Tañada's eulogy for him ("He was born American, but raised a Filipino and died a Filipino"). Mar Roxas, was the one most obviously gunning for the presidency and you could feel the pressure he was in to get the limelight. His answers were insightful but Escudero got more laughs. Well, except for his melodramatic defense that he was marrying Korina Sanchez for love and not political gain. Chiz was the darling of the crowd, drawing chuckles even as he made veiled attacks on the President. Asked the Pacquiao question he bluntly replied he would support the People's Champ, as long as he's not with the one he visited at Malacañang earlier in the day. Asked the movie question and he answered "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo".

Arroyo herself wasn't there but the shadow of her presidency was ever looming especially for Admin ally Teodoro. "Gibo" Teodoro dutifully took up the cudgels for the President, extolling her many achievements (i.e. the usual fare: infrastructure, 7.3% GDP growth in 2007, peace and order blah, blah, blah...) and expressing his support on a probe on her family but cautioning that if it was only political harassment "I will protect my President." Mr. Palengke Roxas and Gordon focused on their personal relationship with the President, Mr. Palengke admitting she supported him against the cement and pharmaceutical cartels while DTI Secretary and Gordon about how they used to work together in the Senate. Panlilio discoursed about the inherent goodness found in everyone and praised Arroyo for her commitment to the environment through the Solid Waste Management Act and the Alternative Fuels Law. (I suppose Among Ed isn't familiar with the trouble in the Tañon Strait which is nothing but an outgrowth of her neoliberal policies, but i don't take that against him).

My evaluation? Chiz scored with the audience and all the rest were struggling to get a piece of the attention. Teodoro, particularly, passed off as little more than an Administration lackey, which is not good as negative SWS ratings dog his boss. Mar tried to get noticed but, let's just say he can still catch up with the publicity from the upcoming wedding of the century. But all in all, everyone was playing safe. Nothing much about Cha-Cha, Human rights, Extrajudicial kilings, Agrarian reform or any profound critique on the Philippine economy, society or political system. Nobody said anything about the Tuition Moratorium Bill or the Magna Carta for Students, not even about the Reproductive Health Bill. But yes, there was the usual appeal to the delicious chunk of two million first-time voters (which include me by the way) and their youthful compatriots.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not discouraging young people from voting. Your friendly neighborhood cynic is just telling all the young voters to not put their hopes up too high. If you really want change through the ballot, first, pray like hell that the polls will be clean. Next, pray like hell the people who get elected are clean. Then, pray like hell the next elections will be clean. Repeat steps 1 and 2 indefinitely. It's a long shot but, hey, nobody said change through the ballot was quick and introducing profound changes to the system is really messy and not that sexy compared to all the cool star-studded political ads and campaign jingles. As for me, I prefer to put my vote where it won't be wasted like on Kabataan Party-list, our sectoral organization who just recently was awarded a seat in Congress by the Supreme Court after years of litigation (and God knows how many more years of endless struggle before that). In fact, I' m going to get registered, when I'm not either too busy or too lazy.