The biggest gambling extravaganza has come to town, once again. It’s a surreal event that happens, transforming the whole country into one humongous casino. Last Tuesday was the last day when thousands of “bettors” registered their intention to participate in the high stakes gambling, hoping that their wagers will pay off, making them reap a bonanza of untold riches for the next three or six years.
The gambling extravaganza is the Philippine elections, of course. The bettors are the candidates who wager their fortunes, or parlay their fame, in hopes of landing jobs that are tantamount to hitting the jackpot. Come election day, voters will also gamble with their votes, hoping that the candidates they choose will genuinely work to make lives better. Increasingly, however, many voters have realized that whoever they vote for, renege on their promises, and that whoever ends up winning in the elections does not result in the betterment of their lives. As a consequence, many of our voters no longer cast their votes as a wager for a better future. Instead, they cash in by trading their votes for a day’s meal.
Our elections have ceased to function as a nationwide search for talent, moral uprightness, and heart for public service. It has become a function of wealth, as shown by the throng of moneyed businesspersons who have entered and who are entering politics with business in mind, either by themselves or through proxies whom they finance. It has become a function of fame, whatever its source, which enables public personalities to transform fame into fortunes. It has become a function of incumbency where those who occupy the seats of power have a mile edge over newcomers, because of access to public funds and public services which they parlay to engender debt of gratitude among voters.
The statistics are not yet out but from a cursory survey of those who filed certificates of candidacy, we have the most number of entertainers who are gunning for elective posts in the coming elections. Sheer celebrity status—even if absolutely devoid of connection with public service credentials—has become a formidable element of winnability. This largely explains why public personalities burnish their image with inane videos that entertain or titillate.
Work and scholastic credentials have been replaced by silly dancing, slapstick TikTok videos, and short recordings of the trivialities of life. Campaign rallies are traveling variety shows that principally showcase dancing, singing, and even circus performances. Instead of oratorical feats that highlight credentials, plans and programs, and an accounting of good deeds, speeches have become tests of the candidates’ skills as stand-up comedians.
Even the persistence of dynasties have been anchored on name-recall which is a by-product of fame. Look at the many enduring names in the Senate who are voted into office for multiple terms even if they have dismal to mediocre track records as members of the upper chamber, save for the fact that they have recognizable names.
With the names vying for seats in both houses of Congress, there’s little chance that we will move an inch in the overall improvement scale. Whatever development that will be touted as achievement by the current government, will be the consequence of government over-spending financed by an ever burgeoning national debt. The current government is simply coasting along, and there’s nothing that’s happening in the way of structural changes in any of the crucial aspects of our nation’s life.
To be fair, the current administration scores fairly in its efforts to exorcise our nation of the violent ghosts of the previous Duterte administration. However, whatever progress we reap in this regard is the collateral consequence of ulterior motives aimed at edging out the previous ruling dynasty and solidifying the monopoly on power by the current ruling dynasty. The relative peace that we enjoy rests on tenuous grounds.
It’s not all bad news, however. There are a few stellar candidates in both house of Congress who, even in their minority numbers, deserve our vote because they will be crucial and indispensable members of the legislature. They can provide breaks to the excesses of the current administration, and be whistleblowers to the shenanigans of the ruling dynasty and its allies.
Change will not come from the voices of consent and acts of obeisance of those who curry alliances with the holders of power. Change will come from the voices of dissent and acts of defiance of those who confront power.
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