Wanted: Real political parties

‘One of these things is not like the other, which one is different, do you know? So tell me which of these things is not like the other, and I’ll tell you if it is so”.

So goes a song on Sesame Street that is often used for sketches to teach children how to differentiate things, to focus on the differences, as well as similarities of things by playing a game.

It’s not so easy playing this game with Philippine politicians. Senatorial aspirants in the May 2019 midterm elections officially kicked off their campaigns on February 12. There’s a big field of candidates—62 candidates vying for 12 Senate seats—and they belong to various political parties, including PDP-Laban, Hugpong ng Pagbabago-National, Hugpong ng Pagbabago-Davao Region, Du It Pilipinas, Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino, Labor Party Philippines and Otso Diretso.

Philippine politics has never been known for its political parties, and yet, it has been witness to so many. At times, there were even conglomerations of several parties, with different acronyms, which have been grand vehicles carrying political candidates into election after election.

Ask voters what these parties stand for and they would probably be at a loss. If one transcribes all the speeches delivered during political campaigns and sorties, they would probably yield almost identical programs and platforms: anti-poverty, food production, job generation, peace and order, protecting the environment, boosting investments and businesses and other similar themes.

Philippine political parties have largely been weighed down by personalities and patronage. The only common ideology—if it could be called such—is victory at the polls.

And yet, what this country needs is exactly what it lacks, strong political parties that are built and based on ideology and the desire to provide public service. The formation of so many political parties has contributed to the problem of Philippine politics.

One could argue that the existence of so many parties widens our political landscape and gives Filipinos more alternatives during elections. But this is not really the case when a voter finds it difficult to identify where these parties differ in terms of ideology or programs.

This is certainly not the case when parties revolve around individuals or when politicians jump from one party to another, especially those who were denied tickets in their parties and yet still want to run.

Party pluralism could, indeed, lead to the progress and development of Philippine democracy. Political parties may, indeed, be necessary institutions for democracy. But not when money or the prospect of victory (or both) constitutes their only common denominator.

Even with so many political parties, including the party-lists we have in the House of Representatives, we still have poor representation and accountability in government. Why is this, when political parties should in fact serve as key institutions of representative democracy, when they should be the primary intermediaries between citizens and the State?

Again, for Philippine democracy to work, we need real political parties. We used to have a two-party system, with the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party dominating our political affairs. The revival of a two-party system might be a welcome development and might just be what our political system needs.

But whichever these two parties might be, they have to provide real alternatives, clearly defined programs and policies on how to move our country forward. These two parties must be able to redefine traditional politics—not the negative trapo that has come to be associated with the term, characterized by patronage and pelf—but the kind of politics that can lead the way toward social equity, accountability and integrity in public service, and forging alliances to pursue national interests.

So far, the existence of so many parties has done little in helping Philippine politics improve the standard of living of ordinary Filipinos. Indeed, one could even argue this has corrupted the political system and the most sacred of democratic processes, the elections.