MANILA
The Filipinos have just given President Benigno Aquino III a solid majority in the Senate, with nine out of 12 posts up for grabs going to the chief executive’s chosen candidates. The 24-member upper chamber of the Philippine Congress is now in the President’s pocket.
The pre-election surveys had forecast this outcome, and even titillated Mr. Aquino with the prospect of an 11-to-one landslide. But he will be happy with nine out of 12.
Aquino had campaigned long and hard for his senatorial bets. He wanted badly to control the Senate not only because he wanted his legislative agenda to enjoy smooth sailing in the upper chamber, but also with his eyes set on 2016 when his buddy, former senator and vice presidential running mate Mar Roxas, will be contesting the presidency.
Roxas had wanted to run for president in 2020 but gave way to Aquino when the clamor for the latter to go for the presidency had snowballed after the death of democracy icon Cory Aquino, Noynoy’s mother. (Noynoy is the President’s family nickname, PNoy his political one.)
Mr. Aquino will again campaign hard and long in 2016 for Roxas not only to repay this debt of gratitude but also to thwart Vice President Jojo Binay’s ambition to be President. Binay has already declared that he will run in 2016.
Some 50 million Filipinos voted last May 13 to fill practically all elective positions of government (the only posts not at stake were the presidency and barangay [village-level] positions). These elections were crucial because the outcomes will help shape the kind of government the Filipinos will have for the next two decades, but most particularly the next decade. The results will dictate whether Mr. Aquino will have the clout and power to govern as he has started — reforming politics, cleansing government of corruption, jump-starting the economy, rebuilding weakened or debased institutions, and creating an ethic that attempts to equalize the treatment of individuals, particularly the common people. And they will have a huge bearing on what happens in 2016.
Previous Observer columns have highlighted the battle for control of the Senate, the breeding ground, as it were, for future presidents and national statesmen. More importantly, the senate is a bellwether of where the nation is moving toward. Supposed to be the more intelligent and august chamber of the bicameral legislature, the Senate often leads the way in establishing the national zeitgeist.
Mr. Aquino will need a Senate that is not necessarily one that will rigidly toe the official line, but one that is unequivocally in step with the President’s line of thinking and reform agenda. One that not only gives him actual votes on key legislation but one that provides him moral and vocal signals as he forges ahead with his desire and mission to make things right for the people.
But shouldn’t there be an element of opposition in the legislature, especially in the senate, the nation’s official agora of ideas and superior thinking, if there is one? Yes, the danger of having a too-powerful chief executive is there if a separate and key branch of government — the legislature — is in the President’s pocket. It’s a danger worth watching with vigilant eyes.
But it’s also a danger worth risking. Only because this President has been honest and untainted by personal corruption and has been accepted by the people as such, as validated by surveys showing him enjoying high levels of public trust. Anything is possible, but there is no reason at this point to think that Aquino will suddenly turn around and become despotic overnight.
Overall, Mr. Aquino will need not only allies in the senate but leaders from towns/cities and provinces from all over the country. He traveled far and wide in an effort to reach voters in many parts of the country pitching for his party/coalition’s local candidates. So far (I’m writing this one day after the elections), the vote tallies show mixed results for the President’s party mates in the local level, winning some and losing some.
But, again, the key battle was to win the Senate, and that Mr. Aquino has done convincingly. The nine-to-three outcome in the Senate in his favor will blunt Vice President Binay”s current political edge and aura of win ability. Many people so far have given Binay the front-runner status for the 2016 presidential election. But Aquino’s candidates’ substantial win in the senatorial derby will somewhat dull Binay’s edge.
If the reverse had happened, with Binay’s chosen candidates winning instead of those of the President’s, Binay’s march toward the presidency would have been solidified. Now, that presumption that Binay will claim the presidency in 2016 without much opposition has entered an area of doubt, putting the 2016 fight on an even keel. In other words, it will not be a shoo-in for Binay as had been assumed by many people.
Mr. Aquino and his allies had wished for this result in 2013 with their eyes firmly set on 2016. Aquino wants his reform agenda pushed ahead even after he retires in 2016. He doesn’t see Binay, an erstwhile ally of the Aquinos (Binay still claims to support the President but his political chess moves belie that), as the one who will continue what he has started and ensure him a positive and lasting legacy.
After a grueling campaign and fits of coughing (due to smoking, a habit the President can’t seem to kick), Aquino can now take a few days off not only to rest physically, but also to savor the positive results of the campaign. He will rest easy for now, knowing that the road will not be so bumpy for him and his chosen candidate for president in 2016.
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Congratulations. To founder, publisher and editor emeritus Ruben Cusipag for his citation by a Canadian MP for his pioneering efforts to promote press freedom in Canada. The name Cusipag is synonymous to Fil-Am journalism in that country. More power to Balita, Editor-in-chief Tess Cusipag and all who are involved in the production of the largest Fil-Am newspaper in Canada.
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