Not Yet Time to Jump Ship

By Alex P. Vidal 

WHEN the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. fell in February 1986, many Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) stalwarts jumped ship and were “rescued” by the late former Vice President Salvador “Doy” Laurel’s United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO).

Some opted to stay behind the “defrocked” party particularly the “Marcos loyalists” hoping for the strongman’s political resurrection that fizzled out with his death in 1989.

When Mrs. Corazon “Cory” Aquino took over and became estranged with Laurel, many of them abandoned UNIDO and embraced PDP-Laban, Tita Cory’s official party until 2009.

When the late Fidel V. Ramos or FVR reigned supreme in 1992, these unprincipled minions hastily formed a beeline to the new ruling Lakas-NUCD party.

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Then came Joseph “Erap” Estrada. From KBL, UNIDO, and PDP-Laban, these political grutnols and druggles “fled” like refugees to Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).

Everyone knew what happened next when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or Ate Gloria took over: the balimbings, bereft of principle, were again in mad scramble to take oath this time as KAMPI members.

When the late Benigno Aquino III or P-Noy became president, the political pendulum abruptly tilted to the Liberal Party (LP)’s favor in a mass exodus that could dwarf the myth of Israel.

Under the new dispensation after P-Noy, some LP members did not only forsake the party that helped enrich many of them through “pork barrel”, they also burned their bridges swearing allegiance not only to former President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte’s PDP-Laban, but to many of the hard-hitting former mayor of Davao City’s programs that didn’t sit well with their previous political party.

The mass exodus from LP to PDP-Laban appeared to be “only the beginning.”

Duterte’s political party was expected to make a major sweep of the remnants of LP and other coalition parties when his pet program, federalism, took the center stage.

What did the changing of political bandwagon from one disintegrating political party to another ruling party indicate?

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It’s neither a sign of renaissance nor headway. It’s pure and simple opportunism.

Philippine politicians fight for survival and can’t afford to stay away from the political party of those in power like Mr. Duterte.

Many of these politicians have pending graft and corruption cases in courts. Some of them were engaged in protection racket.

Illegal loggers, smugglers, gambling and drug lords financed some of these politicians during elections.

If the sitting president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will lower the boom against them, they will find their way to the doldrums like tottering fools.

If they were “outside the kulambo“, so to speak, when the new administration beckoned, there were strong chances their slumbering cases would be expedited; and they might end up snoring in the calaboose.

We will wait when Mr. Marcos Jr. or BBM makes an exit from the Malacanang in 2028 and another president will occupy the presidency.

We will surely see the same political merry-go-round similar to what we are seeing today.

That’s the reality of politics – only in the Philippines.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines—Ed)