THIS EARLY, we see the presidential and vice-presidential races heading straight to the gutter, instead of a battlefield of contrasting platforms and principles. Everything and anything?whether these are the more permissible questions about the financial activities of candidates or their positions on past and present public interest questions, or intolerable slander ranging from sex to genetics?seem to be fair game, not least through essentially unverifiable, and thus deniable, methods of transmittal such as text messages and online commentary.
We believe this is less a function of the inclination of voters, and more a sign of desperation on the part of candidates and their campaigns. Candidates who believe themselves weak when it comes to issues the electorate deeply cares about will have no problem trying to erode the standing of their rivals by means of character assassination. This is less about the public deserving to know about such things, as it is about experimenting until an issue can be found that, rightly or wrongly, can help bring down an opponent.

By and large, the public has been clear about what it wants during this, and previous, campaigns: for the candidates to square off against each other in public debates and forums; and for the various tandems to campaign on the basis of platforms that spell out their prescriptions for solutions to the country?s many problems.

But what the public wants isn?t what it will necessarily get from the candidates. In 2004 the major candidates for the presidency refused to debate each other; and so, while the two leading contenders did have clear platforms, the public was deprived of the opportunity to compare and contrast the platforms?and the ability of the candidates to explain and uphold their positions on the issues.

Up to this point, what the various presidential candidates have been doing is to introduce themselves to the electorate, in the hope that their bids prove attractive enough to lure a formidable running mate and put the tandem at the head of a coalition with the national scope and scale necessary to mount a viable campaign. This period will come to an end with the formal filing of candidacies. After that, the teams having been created, it will be up to them to duke it out with each other, to rein in votes.

The 2010 campaign is, then, pretty much, set. The contending tandems are in place and all that?s left for them to do is formally file their certificates of candidacy. What comes next? There?s the thorny problem of a curious Supreme Court decision that essentially requires the announced tandems to hold off campaigning from the end of November to the first week of February. We do not know if it?s possible that the Court will revisit this decision on appeal, but in the absence of any change, we believe the candidates must take the responsible path and give the electorate something to chew on for the next two months.

As it is, the contenders seem to be, Aquino-Roxas, Estrada-Binay, Teodoro-Manzano, Villar-Legarda, and quite possibly, Escudero running as an independent for president or vice president. Of these, Estrada-Binay were the first to go through the formalities of a convention and the proclamation of a platform, though this hasn?t been widely published and disseminated. Villar and Legarda, who consummated their political union Tuesday, have talked about their seeing eye to eye and being in harmony about their separate platforms, and we can only hope that their joint platform will now be publicized.

Aquino-Roxas and Teodoro-Manzano have been tight-lipped about whether or not they will publish a campaign platform, while Escudero, if he becomes an independent candidate, must enunciate what he stands for. In all these cases, we urge all the tandems to formalize their joint platforms by the time they file their certificates of candidacy before the Comelec.

This will allow the public to compare and contrast them over the next two months; and to be prepared to hold the candidates accountable for their contents come the campaign season from February to May.