The more the merrier, or too many for comfort?
Now that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has officially joined other presidential hopefuls in what may be called as one of the most interesting and hotly contested races in the country’s electoral history, will a five-way fight for a seat in Malacañang be any good to a democracy like the Philippines?
Despite previous declarations in various occasions that he would not run for president as a matter of principle, the tough-talking Duterte formally announced that he would seek the highest position in the land after the Senate Electoral Tribunal denied to oust poll front-runner Sen. Grace Poe over citizenship issues. He has also confirmed that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano will be his running mate.
But Duterte, who has not filed a certificate of candidacy for president, is still awaiting the legal implications of substituting for PDP-Laban standard-bearer Martin Diño, who has been tagged a nuisance candidate by the Commission on Elections.
If the Duterte and Cayetano pairing will make it through, they are expected to face off the tandems of administration bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo; opposition leader Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Gringo Honasan; independent candidates Senators Poe and Francis Escudero; and Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Before formally sealing the Roxas-Robredo tandem, the ruling Liberal Party wanted Poe to be the running mate of the former interior secretary. But the senator had plans of her own as she declared her presidential bid with Escudero as her vice president.
Among the five hopefuls, Binay was the first to officially announce his intention to run for president even without a confirmed running mate. His party, the United Nationalist Alliance, eyed Marcos as the Vice President’s running mate, but he ended up with Honasan after several talks.
Marcos, meanwhile, paired with presidential aspirant Santiago, who vowed for a “much better Philippines” after claiming that she was cured of lung cancer.
For millions of Filipinos seeking either change or continuity in governance, are these five potential tandems good or bad for the country? Do they indeed give the people more options to choose from, or will they only confuse voters more?
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