THE filing of candidacy for the 2013 midterm elections officially began. With 18,053 elective positions at stake, the country (especially its qualified voters) is in the throes of election fever.
On a national scale, Filipino voters will declare who to fill the 12 senatorial and 80 party-list representations seats.
The local elections involve voters to elect district representatives (Congress members), provincial governors, vice governors, provincial board members, city and municipal mayors, city and municipal vice mayors, and town council members.
On October 1, those intending to run for the 2013 polls in May, trooped the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros, Manila to file their respective Certificates of Candidacy (COCs). The filing of COCs for all would-be candidates is until October 5, 2012.
Under President Benigno Aquino III’s leadership, familiar faces such as Sen. Francis Escudero, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, former Senator Jamby Madrigal, Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel comprise the LP-Akbayan -NPC-LDP-NP Coalition Party.
Newcomers such as Grace Poe Llamanazares, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV and former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, complete the list.
Pres. Aquino, who is aiming for a 12-0 knockout victory, assures Filipino electorates that these 12 candidates will be substantial in continuing the reforms started by his administration in 2010.
“This is a coalition organized based on a common reform vision, solidly grounded in good governance, and certainly not a coalition for political convenience,” said Sen. Cayetano.
Internal Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said the electoral campaign of the administration would be based on the guiding principle of decency, honor and integrity.
Also on Monday, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) prime movers Vice President Jejomar Binay, former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile accompanied their eight senatorial bets, in filing their CoCs.
The faction is between Binay’s Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) and Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).
The UNA senatorial roster includes Sen. Gringo Honasan, former Sen. Ernesto Maceda, former Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, former Sen. Richard Gordon, San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, former Tarlac governor Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile and Zambales Rep. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay.
Binay expressed confidence in his bets, citing his own victory over Mar Roxas in the 2010 elections. The vice president, who openly expressed intentions of running as the country’s next president in 2016, already has Enrile’s public support.
Estrada also filed his bid to become mayor of Manila. He said his platform will center on job creation, livelihood, war on criminals and scalawag policemen.
Other interesting personalities also filed their bid for CoCs last Monday.
Daniel Magtira from Manila, who wrote “Kris Aquino” as his wife in his CoC), also seeks a senate post.
Fourth timer Melchor Chavez from Bataan, also wants a chance to serve his country as a senator. He told reporters that current leaders are not doing anything to help the country.
Salam Lacan Luisong Tagean aims for a senatorial bid because he claims that he is the legitimate heir of the whole Philippine archipelago.
For Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, the 2013 elections will see the country at a transition period. According to her, some old faces may be considered overstaying, while the new ones may be considered immature or incompetent.
“This gap between political generations seems to be the product of social media, which is now filtering down to the masses. People are no longer content with the old, but are not impressed by the young,” she shared in her speech at a business forum in Bacolod City last week.
The promotion of people’s interest will be on top of political junkets once again. Issues such as criminality, high prices, unemployment, housing shortage, over-population, and the poor justice system will unfortunately, still be headlining each candidate’s platform.
As a precedent of the 2016 presidential elections, the campaign season leading to next year’s election will be a grueling journey for candidates and voters. The test has just begun when they declared their intention to run for the office.
Even with recent significant developments, majority of voters are still not happy with the way things have been going in the government. Although by adopting popular platforms to gain more votes, seem to be an easy route, even the most accurate polls cannot predict how the race will pan out.
(AJPress)
