A well-oiled political machinery

Think Bits

First of all, allow me to greet everyone a belated Happy Easter.

The presidential election in our country is getting quite interesting. So far in the latest survey, Sen. Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte were statistically tied, followed by Vice President Jejomar Binay, then Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas and Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago.

Duterte’s rallies have pulled in a large crowd each time, but his supporters are quite zealous to the point of being rabid. In the Cebu debate, we could see how his supporters heckled Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, showing no respect whatsoever.

Of all four  candidates in the Cebu debate, it is Roxas who can boast of a well-funded machinery which is very important in an election. He is followed by Binay whose United Nationalist Alliance is quite formidable.

Sen. Poe has no clear machinery except the support of the Nationalist People’s Coalition of businessman Danding Cojuangco.  But the NPC is not solid behind Poe because some of the party members are supporting Binay.

In Duterte’s case, he has the popular support but he has no clear machinery. Yet the Davao City mayor is not bothered by this.

But in an election, it is very important that candidates have the machinery to convert their  popularity into votes and to protect these votes from manipulation.

I wish that Duterte’s people realize the importance of a political machinery because that would ensure his victory. Though Roxas has the machinery, he has not been faring well in the surveys which offsets his advantage.

In Cebu City, Rama has the support of 70 out of 80 barangay leaders, but some quarters countered that was the case when former Mayor Tomas Osmeña ran and won despite only having a few barangay officials on his side.

But Rama is aware of that and has been strengthening his ranks. The mayor isn’t depending so much on the barangays because he is working so hard in many areas aside from the barangays.

When one talks about a well-oiled political machinery, Mayor Rama made sure that he will have one that can convert his popularity into votes and also protect his votes from the other camp.

Mayor Rama knows his politics and is very careful in handling the team’s campaign. He leaves no stone unturned. But whatever it is, let me wish all the local candidates the best of luck.