What ever happened to unity?

Oh, wait. The elections are just a few weeks from now. Who am I going to vote for? The local front is easy. But, for the Senate, I have to think of 12 names. (Well, it would be okay if you want to vote for fewer than 12.) A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a friend who was telling me about the senatorial candidates who are making it on his list. I stayed quiet while he shared his bets. I thought to myself, this guy’s being overenthusiastic. Thinking back, I now reflect that he was doing the right thing. I was the one being underenthusiastic. I feel like an employee with an annual report due within days; and I haven’t even yet started with the first page.

The nightly news reported on the candidates surveyed to be in the top 12, supposedly with the high probability of winning. This time, I listened intently, hoping I could get some ideas on my own list of 12. Then, I thought to myself, are these the guys who would most likely make it? Why do I feel uneasy? (I need to look at the complete list of the senatorial candidates. Maybe, I could get them online. But then, they may be full of unfamiliar names. I’m not sure if I have the time or the diligence to look up their individual backgrounds.) Most of the top 12 on the surveys are either incumbent or former senators. I feel like wanting to try something new on the menu. On the other hand, there could be reliability on experience. Uncomfortably going through the supposed top 12, I was hovering in my thoughts, “What has he done to make it to the top?”, “Why do people like him so much?”, “Maybe, he has done something good that I don’t know of.”, “Doesn’t he have some corruption case?”, “Didn’t he run for President?”, and many other questions. Of course, voting in the elections isn’t picking a song on a Top 40 playlist, or choosing a coffee variant on a menu booklet. We’re not really supposed to look for something or someone “new”. But why do I find this list unsettling? Most of them on the list of supposed top 12 are prominent allies, aligned with or have some inclination at some point in time towards former President Duterte. No, not most; all of them are.

Still on surveys, according to Pulse Asia, The trust and approval ratings of Vice President Sarah Duterte gained; while the satisfaction and trust ratings of President Marcos, Senate President Escudero and Speaker Romualdez all dropped. The time frame is around the last week of March this year.

Now, reconcile the survey for senatorial candidates and this Pulse Asia survey. (We’re going to assume that the methodologies of both surveys are all valid and reliable.) Think about it; it all makes sense. They complement each other.

It seems that the Filipino people leaning in favor towards those who are allied or aligned with former President Rodrigo Duterte. Inversely, they seem to be dissatisfied of personalities who are not aligned or hostile against the former President. If these survey results were jigsaw puzzle pieces, they would fit together just fine like long lost brothers.

One more thing that the same friend that I mentioned, told me was that because of the former President’s arrest, PDP Laban candidates would win on the elections. I think, what he really meant was candidates allied or aligned with FPRRD would win. I shrugged it off and reacted with a “maybe not”. But now, I think, he could be right. Candidates who support FPRRD are leading surveys. People give a thumbs up for VP Sarah and a simultaneous thumbs down for PBBM, Senate President Escudero and Speaker Romualdez. Now, it turns out that despite our personal stands and legal interpretations, most of our fellow countrymen seem to favor the Duterte side. That would imply that most Filipinos do not agree with the Duterte arrest and the Marcos’ administration’s support and cooperation with ICC and Interpol.

This would mean that probably, the Duterte supporters would win in the elections. (Although, who knows? Something could happen between now and May 12 that could sway the vote.) The Duterte supporting or leaning senators elect would join Senators Robinhood Padilla and Allan Peter Cayetano (who lest we forget was FPRRD’s running mate when he ran for president). In case you miss it, this means that the PBBM administration would go this way, and the Duterte supporters in the Senate and probably in the Congress would go that way. The executive would go that way, and the legislative would go this way. They might not get things done. They may be at each other’s throats. What would happen to us then?

1 Cporinthians 1:10: “…that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you.”