Post-election scenario

If latest trends in the ongoing election count were gauge, the non-inclusion in the magic 12 of Vicente Sotto III, Cesar Montano, and Richard Gomez serves public notice that from hereon – Philippine politics is off-limits to showbiz people or actors in particular. And who gave aspiring actors and actresses joining politics a bad name?

In fact, with their exclusion from the winning circle, some observers think that votes as now being counted fairly reflect the true voters’ preference. Corollarily, despite the hype of a 12-0 Team Unity win, it turns out that there will be more opposition senatoriables winning over their better-funded political rivals in the GMA camp.

Problem is, there is a disconcerting pattern of COMELEC deciding in favor of the complaints of administration candidates to declare “a failure of election” as such when they are losing in the vote count or so to preempt an imminent loss. When there is a failure of election being so ordered by COMELEC, the otherwise winning candidate cannot be proclaimed or that the final official count cannot be announced but deferred. Thus, there is a kind of social injustice here.

Even the claim that administration candidates dominated the local level is rather misleading. Many opposition candidates for the congressional, gubernatorial, provincial board, mayoral, municipal or city councils and party list organizations exhibit strength by reversing the trends in their favor. In other words, at both the local and national levels, the opposition dominated their administration counterpart.

This probably boils down to the original belief that this May 14, 2007 mid-term elections is actually a referendum on whether the people still want GMA to stay in power or not. There are writings on the wall, not to mention prior negative trust ratings, that the Filipino people now want her to be held accountable via normal democratic processes. Observers of trends cannot discount the possibility that an impeachment move will be slapped against GMA especially in an opposition-dominated Senate.

Furthermore, if there will be a significant number of opposition-congressmen in this 14th Congress, then perhaps, the balance of power can be tilted in favor of the opposition. When this happens, GMA might lose ground and it would imperil her legislative agenda. Again, if this happens, GMA would have been badly isolated from the Legislature while she can still muster the cooperation and loyalty of those from the Executive and the Judiciary.

With Trillanes, Gringo, Ping, and Pong Biazon (PMA-bred military elites) in the Senate, it will be hard for the AFP or PNP to play partisan politics. In the end, there is a heavy strain placed upon the presidency of GMA and might create the domino effect in no time at all. All it needs is someone to strike the fuse, matter-of-factly. A repeat of Hyatt 10 is not far removed.

A now sickly and unpopular justice secretary will soon take a leave of absence and it will bring calming effect in our political waters. This is the man that created the “shark-attacks effect” in our political beach. With him out of the national scene, there can be more political equilibrium and stability. Some more heads must roll, not the least, the calling for the resignation of COMELEC Chairman and his ilk who definitely figured in the entire electoral mess that was May 14. No wonder, Inquirer has to cast unto him the social stigma as “shameless” and “shameless” he does – looks like shameless, talks like shameless, walks like shameless. Or, indeed, why can’t a viable body polity get rid of such a character?

The Filipino people is yet to win a moral victory, pray it will. Makati goes to Binay, Manila to Lim, Pasig to Eusebio, and so on. With this encouraging pattern of opposition winning greater grounds, maybe, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Right-thiknking individuals should not lower their guard against the last-ditch possibility that all signs of cheating and scheme of fraud might still unfold before our very eyes. Once and for all, let good win over evil, please! Let us guard the national canvassing of votes.