MANILA, Philippines - It has been an action-packed Senate since the election of new senators in 2007, and the action gave many of them an opportunity to shine in preparation for seeking the country’s highest post in next year’s elections.
This year ended the “primaries” among potential presidential candidates, with the Liberal Party’s Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III – to the surprise of many – emerging as the top contender for the post.
The LP’s original standard-bearer, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, decided to run for vice president instead after Aquino appeared to be the more “winnable” candidate for the party.
It was the death of Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino, in August that triggered the clamor
for the senator to seek the presidency.
Aquino was dubbed the “game changer” as he was not one of those originally positioning to be president and his mother was even reportedly opposed to the idea.
Aquino announced his presidential bid in September as his family ended the 40th day of prayer for his mother.
Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. had quite early on announced his presidential bid and launched several infomercials to boost his chances. But Villar was suddenly frontrunner no more when Aquino joined the race.
Senators Panfilo Lacson and Francis Escudero decided not to pursue their dreams to be president in 2010, reportedly due to financial constraints. Lacson made the announcement as early as June while Escudero, who had to wait until he was 40 in October, said he decided it was not yet time for him after some “contemplation” and a careful evaluation of his situation in November. Before withdrawing from the presidential derby, he resigned from the Nationalist People’s Coalition to become independent and “free” from the dictates of a party or any interests.
Sen. Loren Legarda also opted to slide down and eventually became the running mate of Villar, whom she had earlier roundly criticized on various issues. Senators Richard Gordon and Jamby Madrigal, however, decided to stay in the presidential race.
But they were not the only electoral newsmakers in the chamber, as many are seeking reelection in 2010, including Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Pia Cayetano, Manuel Lapid and Ramon Revilla Jr.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Rodolfo Biazon are on their last terms while the rest took office in 2007 and will remain senators until 2013. Pimentel’s daughter, Gwendolyn Gana, is running to replace him while Biazon hopes to switch positions with his son, Ruffy, the current Muntinlupa representative.
Roxas, who made headlines when he gave way to Aquino, will no longer hold an elective posit in case of defeat, since his term as senator ends in 2010, Gordon and Madrigal face the same prospect.
Aquino, Villar, Legarda will get back their Senate seats even if they lose in 2010 and join the 12 new winners and current members - Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Edgardo Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano, Gregorio Honasan, Francis Pangilinan, Joker Arroyo, Antonio Trillanes IV, Lacson and Escudero.
Pangilinan also backed out of the vice presidential race while Zubiri and Revilla turned down the offer of the administration to be the running mate of its standard- bearer, former Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.
Jumping board
The Senate is considered a breeding ground for presidents, since senators are the only nationally elected government officials aside from the president and vice president.
But while Roxas of LP and Villar’s Nacionalista Party started the fight for the presidency early, they had to deal with the people’s apparent lack of interest in the coming elections until Mrs. Aquino passed away.
The controversies hounding Villar, particularly the allegation that he asked for the insertion of P200 million in the 2008 budget for his pet C-5 road extension project and which benefited his family’s businesses, did not seem to affect him very much as he was topping the surveys.
Villar’s camp is expecting the emotions over Mrs. Aquino’s death to die down by November but the year is almost over and her son is still leading almost all the nationwide surveys by a wide margin.
Aquino expressed belief the people would like a complete divorce from the current administration and that they would install its exact opposite, or at least the candidates they perceive to be the opposite of the Arroyo government.
Whether the impending release of the Committee of the Whole’s report on the C-5 case, prepared by no less than Enrile who presided over the investigation, will have an adverse impact on Villar remains to be seen as his ratings have also been improving.
Lacson, who exposed the supposed anomaly, signed the report, a strong indication that the findings were not favorable to Villar, who stood firm in snubbing the hearings.
He described the Committee of the Whole as a kangaroo court out to convict him to derail his candidacy. Villar had also managed to get 12 signatures for a resolution dismissing the case against him, but Estrada later withdrew his signature as the resolution was released before the committee report.
It is also because of the C-5 issue that the tandem of Villar and Legarda became controversial. Legarda was one of those who led the ouster of Villar as Senate president when the issue erupted and she had reportedly been talking to Escudero, being both from the NPC, for a possible partnership.
The attacks on Aquino, on the other hand, are mainly on his personality, his supposed lack of achievements and leadership experience, the Hacienda Luisita issue and his alleged lobbying for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway project that traversed his family-owned Hacienda Luisita.
Aquino also needs to show people he can unite the forces within his camp and that he will not make compromises for the sake of getting more support or funds.
Gordon and Madrigal have been faring poorly in the surveys. Gordon’s running mate is former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando, whose own presidential bid was never taken seriously by the people.
Challenges
Lacson exposed the supposed dark side of former President Joseph Estrada, who reportedly linked him to the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.
Lacson pointed to Estrada, who had filed his candidacy to regain the presidency, as the real mastermind behind the murders and said the ex-president could also be behind the disappearance of former casino employee Edgar Bentain, the person who leaked the video showing the former president gambling.
Lacson, who implicated the former president in other irregularities like jueteng, smuggling and meddling in business deals for fat commissions, said he decided to bare all that he knew about Estrada, his former boss, to guide the people in choosing the right person to vote for in 2010. Estrada’s son defended him on the Senate floor.
There were many other investigations conducted at the Senate and the challenge to the next president, especially if he or she would come from the upper chamber, would be to make sure that those behind government anomalies would be prosecuted and punished.
An American analyst, Dr. Lyle Dwight Wray, said in a recent seminar on “Strengthening Democracy Through Ethical Leadership and Effective Citizen Participation” that exposés would become pure entertainment for the media and the public if there would be no justice.
The others running for president are Olongapo City Councilor John Carlos de los Reyes and spiritual leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva.
They are also running against the backdrop of disasters, such as tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng,” that devastated many parts of the country, the Maguindanao massacre, the decision of former President Arroyo to run for congresswoman of Pampanga, which analysts said might only be part of her grand design to stay in power, a scenario of failure of elections with the automated voting system and other issues pitting the Senate against Malacañang.
These make the problems of poverty, corruption, lack of education and other social services, elusive Mindanao peace and development, unemployment, injustice, environmental degradation and many others more glaring in the eyes of the people.
Wray said indifference among the people was not always a bad thing because it was an indication that they were raising their standards as regards the kind of government they would like to have and the officials would have to keep up to become relevant again to their lives.
Significant changes may happen after a period of apathy, Wray explained.
So as the people closely watch the Senate in the days to come, they must bear in mind that life will go on for these politicians even if they do not win in 2010.
The people, especially the poor, are the ones who cannot afford to lose all the time.
By Aurea Calica
The Philippine Star
Updated December 28, 2009 12:00 AM
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