The Presidential Derby and the Senate

MANILA - Even when the official campaign period for the position of president was yet to begin last February 9, one could already feel the campaign heating up. The people are already barraged with television ads disguised as infomercials and the proliferation of posters - minus the "vote for..." of course, lest the candidate be charged with electioneering. There are the presidential debates hosted by the big television networks, the constant playing of campaign jingles on the radio, and the tit-for-tat in newspapers. Name recall is the name of the game. No matter how vague the messages are, the objective of the candidates is maximum exposure.

However, the best example of how the presidential derby should not be played could be seen in the Senate. Perhaps the reason why the Senate hearings, specifically those pertaining to the C-5 extension, have stooped to such a low level of politicking is that all the leading presidential candidates are represented there: Manny Villar, Noynoy Aquino, and Erap Estrada, who is represented by his son Jinggoy Estrada. Dick Gordon and Jamby Madrigal are likewise senators and presidential aspirants, albeit highly unlikely to win.

The senators have been using every dirty trick in the book - mudslinging, insults, maneuverings, railroading and filibustering. And these have spilled to the tit-for-tat in the media.

As for Gilbert Teodoro, well, there are enough administration senators to push for his interests. The only thing the administration senators have to do is to let the opposition senators fight it out until they have destroyed each other. This is perhaps why the Lower House, which is dominated by the administration, is not joining the fray. Instead, majority of the honorable representatives made it a habit to absent themselves until the last session.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is a different matter altogether. He is the one person who would benefit most if there would be a failure of elections. The senate president is third in the line of succession, and since the Filipino people would not tolerate an Arroyo holdover, Enrile stands to benefit from it. This is why Enrile is jealously guarding his position and has been viciously hitting back at those who he thinks have been working for his replacement: Senators Manny Villar and Edgardo Angara. Enrile is far from being a fair and objective senate president: he is an aspiring president-in-waiting.

With the way the Senate has been acting, the presidential election campaign has turned into a true derby, in the Filipino sense of the word, a race and a cockfight.

Why can't the presidential elections be contested on the basis of track record and platforms? Why does it have to be slugged out through dirty politicking, media visibility, and showbiz antics?