As these realignments continue, more and more civil society groups who are actively supporting the candidacy of Aquino and his runningmate, Senator Mar Roxas, are becoming wary of the possible political accommodations and transactional politicking that may occur. So far the LP has done well in selecting local and national candidates that represent the kind of new politics and good governance that Aquino personifies but there are persistent rumors that certain politicians with very shady backgrounds and are known to be corrupt are now trying their best to be part of the LP-led People's Coalition Senate slate and be openly endorsed by Aquino. This is no longer surprising given that Aquino has continued to lord it over the field of current Presidentiables in the recent surveys that have been conducted. As we grow closer to the deadline set by the COMELEC for filing of the certificate of candidacies, you can expect that there will be more of these "highly-experienced" political operators and politicians who will try their best to wiggle their way inside the inner circle of Aquino and Roxas. They will offer Aquino and LP their political machinery and wide network of supporters in exchange for a formal endorsement as an official candidate.
On one hand, the challenge for the people around Aquino is to
ensure that these traditional politicians or "Trapos" are kept away from
him and LP. They must never forget that the current strength of the
Aquino campaign rests on his and his family's unquestionable integrity
and character. If and when political compromises happen and become the
norm of his campaign, he would've fallen into the trap laid down by his
enemies who want him to fight them in their old game of patronage and
money politics. In this kind of a game, Aquino will be at a disadvantage
given that his current adversaries are savvier, more moneyed and more
experienced in this kind of playing field. Aquino has a unique chance of
bringing the campaign and politics in the country to a higher playing
field that is primarily led no longer by the trapos but by ordinary
people like you and me who will proactively work with him in bringing
good governance and ethical leadership in our country. His national
campaign manager, Former Department of Education Sec. Butch Abad hit it
right in the head when he said that this is no longer just an Aquino
campaign but it is a people's campaign. This kind of belief has made
Aquino the runaway leader in all the surveys thus, his campaign must
continue to be anchored on this if they want to ensure victory by May
2010.
On the other hand, the civil
society and people's organizations that are supporting Aquino should
also realize that it is also important to create alliances with
politicians and political parties as long as these alliances do not
compromise the core values of Aquino and the people's campaign. These
alliances are necessary to ensure that Aquino's votes are counted
properly and protected from the cheating machinery that is expected be
in full throttle again come May 2010. Moreover, these alliances are
important since if Aquino wins, he will have an easier time governing
and implementing the necessary reforms if he will be able to have enough
allies in Congress and the local government units. In the field of
politics today, we cannot be purists and say that we despise all
politicians and political parties since we have seen that not all
politicians are engaged in patronage politics and corruption. These
icons of good governance and ethical leadership are exemplified by the
likes of Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo,
Ifugao Gov. Teddy Baguilat, Jr., San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Mayor Sonia
Lorenzo and Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio. The real key for Aquino and
his campaign team is to find that unique balance between the ideals and
values that he represents with the realities of Philippine politics. If
he is able to find this balance and sustain this growing momentum until
the elections, he will have the unique chance of making it to the
history books by being able to get more than 50% of the votes, something
that has not been achieved by any winning President in recent
Philippine electoral history.
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