OPINION PIECE
Edna Aquino

Filipino overseas voters' stakes in the coming Philippine elections

The national and local elections this coming 14 May is the political event of the year in the Philippines. Twelve out of twenty four seats in the Philippine Senate and all 250 seats in the Lower House and over 17,000 local government positions fro provincial to the village (barangay) levels will be are up for grabs. The elections will take place in the midst of unabated public distrust of the Arroyo government over allegations of her cheating during the 2004 presidential elections and her subsequent mishandling of a number of critical political issues. Her claims of economic growth under her administration, for instance, are now being overshadowed by the damning reports from the UN and the government’s own Melo Commission pointing at her government’s lack of decisive will to stop the political killings and bring the perpetrators to justice. Speculations about the forthcoming exercise being a measurement of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s moral, if not, political legitimacy, is certainly valid.

The polls may potentially alter the balance of power between the ruling coalition headed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the opposition. This will not have any significant bearing on fundamental interests of the ruling elite that are already well secured and represented in both political camps, however. News since the period prior to the official start of the electoral campaign on ‘turncoat-ism’ i.e. politicians cruising between the Administration’s party and the opposition and “horsetrading” were plentiful confirming the view that there is no such thing as real political parties in the Philippines.

Members of political clans running for posts to secure their family interests are also very palpable. Despite the provision in the 1987 Constitution banning political dynasties which had grown during the Marcos administration, the family or the clan continues to function as a means towards “private ownership” of public office in Philippine politics. This culture of political dynasty cum patronage politics has certainly grown beyond proportion and has permeated all political parties. No less than the Cojuangco -Aquino family is “guilty” of erpetuating it. The son of former President Corazon Aquino, Congressman Benigno Aquino II, is running as senator under the banner of the opposition
while her sister in law is running for the same position under the administration party. President Arroyo has a son and brother in law in
Congress. Sadly, the Philippine legislative body has not passed an effective law that would bring this constitutional provision into effect, This is not so surprising as both the Senate and the Congress tend to be heavily indebted to the patronage politics system perpetuated by these political dynasties.

While it seems like the traditional political dynasties are here to stay in Philippine politics, they are actually on the decline when compared to the popularity and public acceptance of popular media personalities. . New political families may emerge and could easily build their capacity to create their own dynasties, their shelf life will be much shorter, observed one Filipino columnist. In the end, it will become increasingly difficult for members of these clans to justify themselves simply on the basis of their family names. Public recall is increasingly being determined by sound and video bites. With the help of socially-responsible media, Filipino voters, particularly those voting from overseas would become better educated and critical in their political outlook.Hopefully, not all news will be bad news in the forthcoming
elections.

In this light, an initiative by a group of Filipino migrants abroad is worthy of our support as overseas absentee voters. This group has produced the “Migrants Manifesto “ for the coming elections calling on all overseas Filipinos to use their numbers and influence to initiate real change in the Philippines by forging an agenda that candidates could adopt for better governance.

The manifesto proposes a platform-based campaign that would sustain poverty-reduction efforts by ensuring equitable growth, and then ensuring that “poor people have political power,” that is, giving them “a real voice and space.” Part of the process of creating a new platform-based politics is holding accountable “the powerful and/or the elites, whether political leaders, corporation or other influential actors” for their “actions, (and) their success or failure in (carrying out) their individual or party platforms that promise good governance.” The Manifesto is calling for

1. Meaningful comprehensive electoral reforms, starting with the removal of the residency requirement in the Absentee Voting Law. Introduce laws that will create transparency [in] campaign expenditures, verifiable financial sources, imposing a limit on individual, group and corporate campaign donations.

2. Creation of an office with a Cabinet status such as a Department of Migration and Development that will truly work for the interests of migrant workers. Set up an advisory board composed of qualified, dedicated and credible overseas Filipinos to advice the department.

3. Promotion of good governance, honesty, and accountability of our government servants from the highest to lowest position.

4. Promotion of the welfare of our women, elderly and children.

5. Access to a better education and health services for all.

If you want to make a difference, please join the campaign in support of the Migrants’ Manifesto.

1. Reprint the Manifesto (which you can download from Here ) and distribute it widely.

2. Get your family, friends and members of your organization to sign up.

27 Feb2007