The coming of this year’s Special Elections prompts political parties and independent candidates for another phase of preparation and campaign. In time for this period, political party Alyansang Tapat sa Lasallista (Tapat) initiated a talk titled Usap Tayo: A talk on the Political Atmosphere of the Philippines with renowned speakers Former Commission on Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales and Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao last November 12 at the Yuchengco Hall.
On authoritarianism
After several attempts to convict Former President Ferdinand Marcos and Former First Lady Imelda Marcos of plunder and graft of corruption, Rosales considered the recent development of finding the latter guilty by Sandiganbayan as a “miracle.” According to Rosales, it was the first time this has ever happened; she said that the whole world was always watching the Philippines with curiosity. “Why haven’t you punished any of them? Anong klaseng gobyerno at mamamayan ang mga Pilipino?” she narrated.
(What kind of government and masses does the Philippines have?)
Rosales recounted her past as an activist during the Martial Law era, during which she experienced “brutal methods” dictated by authoritarian rule. She, however, acknowledged that studying authoritarianism should not only start from the rule of Marcos.
She showed a broader picture of the situation through the history of colonization and independence in the Philippines with the objective of contextualizing the regime of Marcos. According to Rosales, there was a long struggle to achieve independence, and as the country achieved such, the struggle continued instead in the form of attaining economic and political independence.
“Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan” is what Marcos had in mind when he came into power, Rosales explained.
(For a nation to prosper, discipline is key.)
As she retold, Marcos continued to have this mindset as he pushed for more power through Martial Law—a power that was soon corrupted with greed and abuse that was only condemned by law decades after.
Rosales applauded the courts that convicted the former dictator and his wife for insisting on their mandate of justice. The kind of independence that the magistrates exhibited, for her, was the “kind of government we should have.”
Defeating political dynasties
Bag-ao, a political science graduate of DLSU, also spoke to the running candidates of Tapat on her success story. In the 2013 Senate Elections, Bag-ao won the representative seat in her district, defeating Gwendolyn Ecleo, a member of the Ecleo political dynasty, which, according to her, is one of the largest political dynasties in the Philippines for the last 50 years in terms of incumbents bearing the same surname or being a part of the family tree. Her unprecedented victory over the ruling party earned her the moniker of “Dragon Slayer”.
Bag-ao’s talk dubbed On How She Toppled A Political Dynasty shared her experiences and struggles in her campaign to become Dinagat Islands’ leader, bringing hope to the people to fight against not only the political dynasty but also poverty in the province.
Bag-ao shared that most of the people of Dinagat before did not have a full understanding of the government and had little trust in the system since they lacked proper infrastructures and amenities such as cemented roads, reliable electricity, and universities, which the former ruling family failed to provide.
She stated that during her campaign, where she was the Legislative Liaison Officer or Caretaker of the Lone District of Dinagat Islands before the elections, only three of the seven municipalities knew her. At the time, local polls returned that she had less than 12 percent awareness among voters and a five percent chance of winning. However, with the help of the Liberal Party under Former President Noynoy Aquino, Bag-ao claimed that she was able to reach out to the people and was able to apply what she learned in college.
Likewise, she explained that previous political candidates who opposed the ruling clan in different government positions either ran away after the elections or were assassinated, which is why the family ruled unopposed for the longest time.
Bag-ao narrated that there were death threats and ambushes plotted against her, but she was able to escape them through the help of her friends who were farmers. She also narrated an instance where one assassin who was hired to kill her refused to carry out the order as Bag-ao had worked as their lawyer and had helped them win a case.
The Dinagat representative concluded that being the underdog in an election is a good opportunity for the minority to shine since they can offer something new. Thus, she added that the underdogs should not go for the same plans of action as the incumbent.
Engagement beyond elections
The event organizer, Jian Tan, articulated that “[Tapat] wanted to do more than just elections this year.” Preceding the campaign and election proper, Tapat sought to prepare the candidates by engaging them with experienced political figures along with their views on some issues that compromise the political atmosphere of the country.
