It’s clear to former President Joseph Estrada and the other leaders of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) that Monday’s elections are just a preliminary battle in the bigger war three years from now.
That’s when Vice President Jejomar Binay is expected to run for president, an objective he has unequivocally confirmed again and again.
UNA’s “miting de avance” (final rally) in Tondo, Manila, on Friday night was practically a proclamation rally three years in advance for “President Binay.”
Led by Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, UNA candidates took turns in introducing Binay as “the next President of the Philippines.”
UNA senatorial candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri volunteered to serve as Binay’s campaign manager in the Visayas and Mindanao in the 2016 presidential campaign.
“Of course, we’re looking at 2016,” Estrada said in an interview the morning after the rally.
He acknowledged the theme that has been playing out during this election campaign—the midterm elections as proxy war between the country’s two top leaders.
Key UNA message
In Team PNoy, the campaign pitch is that if voters believe in President Benigno Aquino III’s reform agenda, they should elect senators who will wholeheartedly support him.
At UNA, one key message is that Binay will be the next President and it will pay to elect his candidates now.
Binay, who formed UNA with Estrada precisely for his impending presidential run, basked in the spotlight, reveling in the admiration and applause of the faithful.
But he made a special effort not to criticize the President, who was leading the miting de avance for the administration ticket at Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City that same night.
In his speech, Binay acknowledged the “statistical” improvements in the economy under Mr. Aquino, but warned of “the real enemy that we have to face.”
“We’re no enemies of President Noynoy. The enemy is poverty and hunger, and these are what we will be fighting against,” he said in Filipino.
In his speech, Enrile took a shot at Mr. Aquino’s good governance slogan: “Daang matuwid ngunit hindi daang malinis (Straight path but not a clean one).”
Jinggoy Binay’s vice?
In separate interviews, Ernesto Maceda and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, UNA campaign manager, claimed that many local officials were quietly backing Binay and his candidates in this election in anticipation of 2016.
More leaders are expected to join the Binay bandwagon as the presidential elections draw near, they said.
Apart from their long-standing political ties, Estrada has a crucial reason to support Binay, his vice-presidential running mate in the 2010 elections. Estrada’s son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, is said to be a leading contender to become Binay’s running mate in 2016.
But Estrada sought to dispel such talk, saying: “There has been no discussion about that, really.”
Reality sets in
In the meantime, the focus is on the midterm elections and to ensure that Team PNoy will not score an improbable 12-0 sweep.
But after three months of arduous campaigning, reality seems to have finally set in for Estrada and the top UNA leaders.
Not all of UNA’s nine senatorial candidates will likely make it to the Magic 12, “so we’re fighting for 6-6,” Estrada said on Saturday.
That would mean conceding a tie with the administration’s Team PNoy.
In a best-case scenario, however, Estrada said the outcome could be 7-5 in favor of UNA. That is, anyone of these three UNA candidates—Mitos Magsaysay, Tingting Cojuangco and Maceda—could spring a surprise on Election Day.
Binay assailed the administration’s 12-0 target, saying it was intended to “condition our minds.” He said the administration people making such predictions were the same ones who allegedly cheated the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. of victory in the 2004 presidential race.
“The cheats, they’re the ones saying 12-0. It’s worrisome, right?” he said in Filipino.
Senate independence threatened
Enrile warned that a sweep for Team PNoy could jeopardize the “independence” of the Senate.
“They’re saying 12-0 because they want to control the Senate. Let’s not allow the Senate to be muzzled,” he said.
Before the harsh exchange of verbal attacks of the campaign, Enrile was instrumental in delivering a major political victory for Mr. Aquino last year when the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, convicted then Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Months later, Enrile was put on the spot by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano who, with three other senators, protested their being cut out of the Senate President’s distribution of Senate funds. Cayetano is now seeking reelection with the administration ticket.
Estrada on Saturday branded this episode as a “black propaganda” move against Enrile supposedly to minimize his impact on the UNA campaign.
“The black propaganda was effective,” Estrada said, noting that Enrile’s son, Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile, has been fluctuating in the surveys.
First posted 12:49 am | Sunday, May 12th, 2013