Consolidation and polarization

By Artchil B. Fernandez

Election Day is less than forty days away. At this point of the campaign, political forces are consolidating and polarized into two camps. The development is evidenced by series of endorsements by political parties, groups and organizations of the two front-runners in the presidential contest.

These are the camps of Vice President Leni Robredo and the dictator’s son. Bongbong Marcos. Endorsement by groups of either camp is reshaping the political landscape and redrawing the political map in the 2022 election.

The political terrain was drastically altered last week when presidential contender Sen. Panfilo Lacson suddenly resigned as Partido Reporma chair and became an independent candidate. Immediately following Lacson’s resignation, the party shifted its support to Vice President Leni Robredo.

The vice president was warmly welcomed by Partido Reporma president Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez along with local officials in the party’s bailiwick of Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur. “It is evident that her campaign has gained, and continues to gain, significant traction. There is much potential there. She has also shown that she represents ideals which are substantially in line with the aims of Partido Reporma: to reform government and provide a better future for Filipinos,” Alvarez declared.

Not to be outdone, the camp of Marcos junior received a major boost when it got the backing of the Cusi-wing of the PDP-Laban last week. This is the group that is closely identified with Du30.

The support of the Cusi-wing of PDP-Laban of the dictator’s son appears to be not solid and problematic. Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone PDP-Laban (Cusi-wing) vice president in Visayas and close ally of Du30 decided to back Vice President Robredo along with twenty mayors. “She’s the only one who can hurdle President Duterte’s standard for his successor,” Evardone said and claimed Du30 was informed of their decision.

Closely following the footstep of PDP-Laban (Cusi wing), the National Unity Party (NUP) also endorsed Bongbong Marcos. “We wish to announce that the National Unity Party has decided to endorse the Presidential bid of former Senator Bongbong Marcos,” the party said in a statement.

Similar to the case of PDP-Laban (Cusi wing), the decision of NUP however seems to be shaky. NUP party president Elpidio Barzaga, the 4th District Representative of Cavite, threw his support to Vice President Leni Robredo. “As I analyzed all the qualifications and experience of all the candidates for president, only one has the experience in the three departments of our government. And that is Leni Robredo,” Barzaga explained his decision.

Iloilo Governor Toto Defensor and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, both stalwarts of NUP who earlier declared their support to Vice President Leni Robredo also issued a statement that they are sticking to their decision. Both reaffirmed their commitment to Robredo.

The latest party to make public its preferred candidate is the Nationalista Party (NP) which aligned with the camp of Marcos junior. This is predictable since the junior Marcos used to be with the party. Oligarch Manny Villar is definitely comfortable with Marcos junior since cronyism as one of the dark legacies of his family. Villar can only further use the State to advance his business interest under the dictator’s son’s rule.

But is NP solidly behind Bongbong Marcos considering the acrimonious history between former Speaker and prominent NP, Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano? The Cayetanos are conspicuously silent in this election and has kept their presidential preference secret.

Another interesting consolidation and polarization in this election is the RoSa 2022 trend which is also gaining ground. RoSa stands for Robredo-Sara, pairing the vice president with the Davao city mayor. The group is led by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda and Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco-Salazar who claimed theirs is the real unity team. Many public officials who belong to NUP and PDP-Laban (Cusi wing) are behind RoSa 2022 making die-hard supporters of Bongbong Marcos squirm.

Misamis Oriental Rep. Juliette Uy, an NUP member, together with her entire ticket of 24 mayors, is strongly backing RoSa 2022. “The situation is abnormal and the party lines have been blurred. The candidates are all good but we go for Leni Robredo because of her integrity. They (Robredo and Duterte) are both lawyers. Both are credible,” said Uy.

The situation is indeed abnormal. Parties endorse a candidate but are unable to make their members toe the line. This indicates not only the weakness of the party system in the country but evidence that political parties only exist on paper.

At this point of the campaign, the choice is narrowing down to two – between Vice President Leni Robredo and Bongbong Marcos. This is apparent as shown by the alignment of political forces. They are gravitating to either camp.

Political forces sensitive to the movement and shifting of public mood on the ground are aware where public sentiments are converging at this time. While one camp has declared the election is over except the counting and has started interviewing prospective cabinet members, it is a grave error to make this assumption.

The 2022 election is far from over and many changes are bound to happen in the final days of the campaign. The strange combinations being made and the fluctuation of public pulse are all indicators everything is fluid and open-ended. Prepare to be surprised.