Today, March 25, 2022, marks the start of the campaign of candidates for local positions such as for governor, representative, mayor, and councilor. Today is the official start yet it feels, to a lot of citizens, that the campaign started way back last year with back-and-forth accusations from opponents filling up news and social media space.
Given the Commission on Elections’ imprimatur as official start, will we see more mature political discourse from our local candidates or does it seem like the circus is now in town? Most of the time, it feels like the latter.
Months before this day, in a major city inside the National Capital Region (NCR), a mayoralty candidate has already accused the incumbent mayor of overpriced purchases. The mayor retaliated by filing cyber libel raps. Another candidate was accused of vote buying since he gave away food packs with cash last holiday season. He claimed that it was the “ayuda.” While another one blamed an incumbent mayor for irresponsible high-priced infra projects, which was debunked by saying that funds were raised through proper channels. All these happened in the early months of the year, grabbing space in the news cycle, garnering reactions on social media, and getting the attention of voters who were either curious about or indifferent to the political ruckus happening right before their eyes.
Early this week, the Comelec’s new commissioner George Garcia has announced that the poll body will form a task force to investigate allegations of vote buying. This is a welcome move met with a lot of skepticism from public policy experts to the ordinary voters. Vote buying, per se, is a violation of election law; it is, however, an “open secret” that benefited many during the past election cycles. Will we see more “teeth” in implementing the law this time? Or will it be another one of those laws that we have just to say that we have that law?
Garcia urged those who have witnessed vote buying to file a complaint or report to the proper authorities. “Regardless of the personalities involved… so long as there is substantial evidence, substantial in character, we will push through with the prosecution of offenders of those who will be guilty of vote buying,” he announced. Now, who will rise up to the occasion to file such a report? The beneficiary, obviously, will not be the complainant. Again, this is a welcome move, but it is now the Comelec's burden to empower voters and to see through it to dismantle the mechanisms of vote buying.
With 45 days before May 9, 2022, more political “fanfare” will be seen on our streets, on our walls, on the radio and television, and on our social media feeds. Campaign jingles will wake us up and our YouTube viewing will be interrupted by so many political advertisements. Roads will soon be blocked by campaign rallies and sorties, inviting traffic and pollution of all kinds — from plastic signages, tarpaulin posters, to discarded styrofoam containers. If all these scenarios still do not constitute a political circus, then how could we best describe the candidates desperately dancing or singing in front of the stage?
Now, it is up to us, the voters, to demand from our candidates a more mature approach to campaigning — one that focuses more on local issues that matter than personal gripes on each other; more on solid platforms that have long-term effects than petty performances that just last for a night.
Without maturity in our political discourse, whether it be for national or local campaigns, do not expect any changes since it would be — sadly — business as usual.