If popularity were the sole benchmark, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is the party to beat in the 2013 mid-term elections.
Coalition heads Vice President Jejomar Binay, former president Joseph Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile enjoy high approval ratings and have the wherewithal needed to win. Political analysts say the endorsement of UNA leaders would boost the chances of local bets and senatorial candidates in next year’s polling.
With grizzled politicians leading the coalition, it’s not difficult to understand the selection process in its Senate ticket. Popularity needs to be translated into votes and to insure 100-percent delivery, UNA picked well-entrenched politicians to lead the party in the provincial, district, city and municipal levels.
In Cebu for example, the point person is Gov. Gwen Garcia who is included in UNA’s Senate slate. The engagement with One Cebu led by Gwen, her father Congressman Pablo Garcia (2nd district, Cebu) who is seeking reelection and brother, Rep. Pablo John (3rd district, Cebu) who is running for governor, places UNA in good hands.
Other coalition senatoriables like Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, JV Ejercito, Jack Enrile, Gringo Honasan and resigned senator Miguel Zubiri are expected to push harder UNA’s viability in next year’s elections.
The kamada or political arrangement appears neat except that Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III challenged the coalition’s decision to include Zubiri in the slate for senators. In the process, UNA is pictured as the party of traditional politicians who will stop at nothing in order to win.
As we know, Zubiri has the distinction of being the first senator to resign his post over allegations of electoral fraud. In the 2007 senatorial race, Zubiri had a total of 11,001,730 votes against Pimentel’s 10,983,358, narrowly defeating the latter for the 12th and last Senate slot. The margin of some 18,372 votes was hotly contested, particularly the votes from Maguindanao, where Pimentel lost heavily to Zubiri.
Pimentel questioned Zubiri’s election in poll cases filed before the Supreme Court, Senate Electoral Tribunal and Commission on Elections (Comelec). The cases did not bar Zubiri from assuming his seat, a scenario that would have continued until 2013, except that a new President was elected in 2010 and a year later, Maguindanao election officer Lintang Bedol surfaced after two years of hiding.
Bedol surrendered to Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes in July 2011 to validate charges of large scale election cheating perpetrated on orders of then President Gloria Arroyo. Bedol, Virgilio Garcillano’s associate, testified that then opposition senatorial candidates, Pimentel III, Alan Peter Cayetano and now President Aquino lost votes as a result of the dagdag-bawas operations.
Bedol’s testimony fixed the last nail on the coffin of Zubiri’s counterfeit election. Without admitting any guilt, he announced his resignation less than a month after Bedol surrendered to authorities, giving way for Koko Pimentel to serve the year and a half remainder of the term.
UNA leaders are trying to prevail upon Pimentel to forget the episode and be assured that he’s on board the winning team. But he cannot be appeased and has in fact continued to embarrass the coalition by questioning Zubiri’s moral fitness to run for office. In one instance, Pimentel likened the Senate berth to a “reward” that can’t be given to someone who participated in organized electoral fraud.
Pimentel resents Zubiri’s inclusion in the coalition slate because it amounts to “business as usual” kind of politics. In my view, Koko is saying that after the ouster of Renato Corona from the Supreme Court, people are looking for some degree of reform in the political system. This is the impetus that has come out of the impeachment process and will be a main issue in next year’s elections.
Simply put, the dilemma for Senator Pimentel is whether to remain in the coalition that supposedly assures his reelection, or bolt the party and face political uncertainty.
The first option promises short term benefits and this bedevils the neophyte lawmaker who has barely warmed his Senate seat. The second has to do with the fundamental issue of principles which comes with the opportunity to better present his advocacy for reforms.
If Koko Pimentel is looking for one “gem of an idea,” this is it as far as defining his own advocacy. Moreover, if he is sensitive to what’s going on, UNA’s favoring Zubiri over his strong objections is like being shown the door. What shabby treatment. He should not stay a minute longer in the coalition.
Bahala nag mapilde, basta makatug lang nga maghayang ug dili ta mauwawng moatubang sa atong kaugalingon sa samin. (Better to lose than be robbed of a good night’s sleep and feel shame when looking at oneself in the mirror).