Defections Not New to Philippine Politics, But…

News about incumbent government officials jumping ship or abandoning the Lakas-Kampi-CMD have filled the headlines of major news networks almost everyday. The administration party's presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro has been trying to downplay these defections by saying that it would make the party stronger as these have the effect of cleansing the party ranks of those who are ambivalent regarding their support for his candidacy. But as the defections increase, Teodoro's chances of winning are getting dimmer because his survey ratings are hardly increasing - he is in a close fight for fourth place with Sen. Richard Gordon but both are way below the ratings of third-placer former president Joseph "Erap" Estrada - and the much-vaunted Lakas-Kampi-CMD machinery appears to be in disarray and dissipating. Party elder former House Speaker Prospero Nograles is even threatening to split the party ranks.