On Tue, February 9, the campaign period for candidates for national positions — president, vice president, and senators — officially began. The upcoming polls add another interesting chapter to the country’s history. The Philippines has endured a turbulent democracy since emerging from the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship three decades ago — with coups, corruption, celebrities and violence dominating politics.
Going national
The candidates for national posts can campaign until May 7, 2016. During the said period, however, they’re restricted from campaigning for two days during the Holy Week: Mar 24 and Mar 25.
As expected, the frontrunners for the top two positions in the land — with five candidates for President and six contenders for Vice President — held their official launch in their chosen locations. Their sorties were described as “emotionally-charged.”
Binay’s baggage
Vice President Jejomar Binay and his running mate, Sen. Gringo Honasan, kicked off their campaign in Mandaluyong City. Though it would have been logical for Binay to do so in Makati City, pundits say he may have ruled it out as his son, Junjun, was ousted as the city’s mayor. In any case, Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos is tagged as a United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) stalwart.
Binay, 73, has spent decades building a vast political machine but has had to endure a barrage of corruption allegations that have seen him lose his front-runner status.
He denies all the allegations but some analysts expect the ombudsman to charge Binay with corruption during the campaign.
Duterte’s deadpan statements
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, launched their campaign in Tondo, Manila.
Duterte, 70, is making a spectacular charge for the presidency by vowing a ruthless crackdown on crime.
Human rights groups have accused Duterte of running vigilante “death squads” that killed more than 1,000 suspected criminals during his many years as mayor of the southern city of Davao.
In various public events, Duterte has acknowledged the existence of the death squads, boasted specifically of killing alleged drug traffickers and offered more of the same for the rest of the country.
“There will be killings. There will be a lot of blood,” Duterte said this week as he pledged to wipe the streets clean of criminals if he was President.
Poe’s problems
Sen. Grace Poe and her running mate, Sen. Chiz Escudero, launched their campaign at Plaza Miranda.
Addressing supporters at Plaza Miranda, Poe said, “I stand before you today as a Filipino, a woman who knows how to fight bullies and oppressors, a leader with a heart that loves our country and people.”
Poe, a not-so-experienced politician is riding a wave of popularity among the tens of millions of poor for her adopted father, Fernando Poe Jr.
He became one of the nation’s most loved actors by playing characters who championed the poor, then nearly translated that into political success by coming second in the 2004 presidential elections.
But opponents have petitioned the Supreme Court to disqualify Poe, arguing she cannot prove she is a “natural-born Filipino” because she does not know who her biological parents are.
The Supreme Court could also disqualify Poe for failing to meet residency rules, because she spent many years living in the United States and gained US citizenship before renouncing it and returning home.
If Poe is knocked out, with a court ruling expected during the campaign, the nation would be plunged into political turmoil.
Mar’s monsters
Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas and his running mate, Rep. Leni Robredo, launched their campaign in Capiz.
Roxas, 58, a US-educated investment banker from one of the nation’s richest families, has consistently trailed in the polls.
Analysts blame a lack of charisma and Roxas sought in his rally Tuesday to remedy his perceived inability to connect with the poor.
“We will make sure that every family is free from hunger, free from fear and free to dream,” Roxas, who served as interior and transport ministers in the Aquino government, told supporters in his home province of Capiz.
Santiago’s social media strategy
Senator and presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago and her running mate, Sen. Bongbong Marcos officially launched their campaign in Batac, Ilocos Norte, the bailiwick of the Marcos family. It’s worth noting that this is the first time that Santiago, who has been dealing with health issues, has traveled out of Luzon for a political sortie. Her camp has maintained that they will use social media platforms as the primary venues of her campaign.
Going solo
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who is running for Vice President sans a presidentiable, launched his campaign from General Santos City, South Cotabato.
Local polls
Meanwhile, as detailed in a Philippine News Agency (PNA) release, candidates for local positions — congressmen, mayors, and so on — will begin their official campaign period on Mar 26. They are also allowed to campaign until May 7, with the same two-day restriction for Holy Week.
By May 8, the eve of Election Day, all forms of campaigning will no longer be allowed.
What’s prohibited?
The PNA, via InterAksyon.com, also added that the following are prohibited until Jun 18:
1. The transfer or movement of officers and employees in the civil service
2. Bearing, carrying, or transporting firearms or other deadly weapons a.k.a. gun ban
3. The use of security personnel or bodyguards by candidates and organization or maintenance of reaction forces, strike forces, or other similar forces
4. The suspension of elective local officials
*For No. 4: The suspension order by the Office of the Ombudsman for local elective officials is exempted as it applies the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.” Candidates could be exempted from the gun ban and the prohibnition on the use of security personnel if they have written authority from the Comelec.
*Additional note: Comelec checkpoints to be manned by the local police will be set up in every city and town to implement the gun ban and prevent election-related violence. Only a visual search of the vehicle is allowed at the checkpoints. The Comelec emphasized: “The search, which is normally permissible, is limited to visual search where the officer simply looks into the vehicle and flashes a flashlight therein without opening the car’s door.” with a report from Karl Malakunas, Agence France-Presse
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