Positioning for 2019

When PDP-Laban was founded (by friends and fellow social activists), l welcomed it as the first party to espouse a distinct political philosophy and socio-economic agenda that promised deliverance from colonial structures and attitudes. This was probably why it did not grow as a party, not until President Duterte won the presidency. Its membership then swelled, but not with politically, economically, and culturally kindred souls but with traditional politicians who saw it as the most expedient way to stay close to the seat of power.

The recent mass migration of Cebu politicians to the PDP-Laban camp is no different. It is still part of the traditional practice of joining a party for political expediency and not for loyalty to a socio-economic philosophy or direction for the country. They can claim all the noblest motives that they can think of, but in the end it’s all about positioning for the 2019 elections.

This has been the bane of our politics because the absence of genuine ideologically differentiated political parties and the relative political immaturity of an economically un-empowered general electorate have combined to produce political leaders who win through vote-buying and who govern by plundering government coffers to recover their investments.

There’s, however, some good news here. These grizzled veterans’ finely tuned political antennae are validating survey results that the president is enjoying a high rate of popular support which they don’t dare buck for the sake of their political careers. To ride this wave effectively they have to come out openly in 2019 in support of the president’s strategic programs principal among which is the shift to a federal form of government.

Crucial for success of a federal government is the establishment, by a self-executing constitutional mandate, of genuine ideologically differentiated parties so people can vote for specific socio-economic directions and not merely for variably self-serving individuals. Hence, while they are migrating for political expediency, it is at a possible high price of supporting constitutional provisions in a federal government that would end their hegemony as traditional vested-interest-representing politicians.

I can live with the disappointment of their traditional selfish motives because I know that they will eventually have their catch22 fix. They cannot win without supporting federalism. Yet they cannot support federalism without creating genuine political parties whose membership is based not on whims but on commitment to a philosophy of government.

For dreamers, it is, in the Bard’s words, “a consummation devoutly to be wished.” For realists, it is a consummation earnestly to be worked out.