Blurred party lines

The 5th leg of “Decision 2016” sponsored by the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center (EADSC) was supposed to be a local candidates’ forum, but presidential front-runner Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte still managed to insert himself in the conversation between two candidates from Lapu-Lapu City and a panel representing the business sector, academe and media.

I was part of the panel that engaged two candidates from this component city of Metro Cebu. Lando Patalinghug of PDP Laban is running for mayor of Lapu-Lapu City, while Rene Espina Jr. is the Nationalist People’s Coalition bet for the city’s lone congressional district. There are six candidates running for mayor and seven for congressmen but except for the two, the rest did not show up.  Many declined the invitation, while some promised to attend but backed out at the last minute.

The quality of the conversation was not really striking except when Mr. Rene Espina Jr. told the audience he was supporting Duterte, PDP Laban candidate for president and not the NPC standard-bearer, Sen. Grace Poe.   Lando Patalinghug met the disclosure with a straight face as if Espina’s switch from NPC to the opposite party was nothing but a bandwagon effect of the Duterte phenomenon that is now sweeping the country.

The Duterte phenomenon was also in the conversation between media colleagues John Rey Saavedra and Manny Rabacal yesterday while taping their TV program, “Clear Cut” over CCTN Channel 47. John Rey was wondering why people are backing Duterte despite his foul mouth, vulgar style, human rights record and indecent behavior. The funny thing is that, according to John Rey, many local candidates are now more inclined to bolt their party and support the Davao City mayor because he draws voters to his side.

National politicians subscribe to the dictum, “All politics is local.” It means they are forced to bow down to the wishes of local political leaders to maximize their chances of winning because the local political kingpins control the power bases and can command voters who to vote or not to vote.

This was the scheme of political things for the past thirty 30 years and there is a sense the May 9 elections will dump patronage politics simply because most Filipinos are now better educated than their parents. Many are engaged in well-paying jobs and do not lean on politicians to give them work or food on the table.

The demographics likewise show that 50% of 54-million voters are young with access to information and digital media. The Internet and digital media have changed the way we consume news and this will impact greatly on politics.

More importantly, people are fed up with the political system in which only 10% of the population, mainly the rich and political elite, control the economy, a situation that has not changed for the last 30 years. Our people have now grasped their power in democratic elections. One can sense this in the way people react in social media.

I overheard former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima saying in an Inquirer.net interview that she has a lean organization that handles the multi-tasks involved in a national campaign, including posting updates on social media. If de Lima is saying the new media platform is not that important in her senatorial bid, I think she has to revisit her priorities because social media is free and used by more than 40 million Filipinos as their source of news and to connect with family and friends.

Meanwhile, Duterte is the most talked about presidentiable in Facebook. This is validated by television networks that track down conversations in social networking sites like FB, Twitter and Instagram at the end of each presidential debate.  Duterte has legions of followers on FB. They are not just supporters but volunteers who really take to heart their Facebooking for him, as their own contribution to his campaign.