By Dominic Sarip
With less than a year before the 2022 national and local elections. Although the filing for the candidacy and the campaign period has not yet started, there are already several reports of premature campaigns all over the nation. The endorsement of the current administration and the opposition of their presidential, vice-presidential and senatorial bids to make their presence known has already started. Both sides are expected to make the headline for the upcoming 2022 elections.
The administration side has not yet released an official list for their bids for the upcoming elections but obviously, they’re rooting for the Mayor of Davao City, Sara Duterte that reportedly already started its premature campaign in different provinces and rural areas. The administration is pushing the daughter of the president to run for the presidential position to continue the legacy of his father, Rodrigo Duterte. The said action brought attention to the media and received criticism from political experts saying that it shows another case of ‘political dynasty’ which is a norm in Philippine governance.
Another endorsement made by the administration was done by the president himself. Rodrigo Duterte repeatedly endorsed his former long time-aide and current Senator Bong Go to run for the upcoming elections, saying that Bong Go himself told the president that he wanted to be a president. However, Go downplayed what the president remarks, saying that it was just a joke. The denial of aspirations to run for elections is not new for Go, as he told in 2018 that he won’t run for Senate yet he did run for Senate in the following year. It’s also the same tactics used by Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 presidential elections. Nevertheless, the endorsement of the incumbent president obviously shows the motive of continuing an existent dynasty.
Both of the endorsed candidates of the administration have yet to prove anything besides being a Mayor of a city and daughter of the incumbent president, and the other one is known for being a long-time aide of the president that appears everywhere with the president and also a Senator.
On the other hand, the opposition joined forces and formed an electoral coalition namely ‘1Samabayan’ which is headed by retired Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Antonio Carpio alongside former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and ex-foreign secretary Albert del Rosario. The goal of the coalition is to unite for change, to defend our sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, and to defeat the tyranny that has ruled the country in the last 5 years, and to replace and prevent any allies of the current administration to lead the nation for another 6 years. In order to do that, the 1Sambayan sets out to endorse for the presidential and vice-presidential positions and the nominees will be screened based on their track record, stand on key social issues, and platforms that promote an “upright” way of running things. Carpio added that they reject any nominees that are identified with authoritarianism, responsible for extrajudicial killings, or who are in favor of extrajudicial killings.
Recently, the 1Sambayan coalition has named six nominees that will go through a selection process to become the main candidates for presidential and vice-presidential elections. The list was headed by the incumbent vice president Leni Robredo and the human rights lawyer Chel Diokno that both show strong credentials to be considered as the opposition’s candidates for 2022 elections.
The 2022 elections are expected to be a battle between the administration and the opposition. This upcoming election will be about the battle of sovereignty over the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea, to prevent another state of lawlessness and culture of impunity, and of course, the recovery of the country due to the devastation brought by the pandemic and the failed response of the current administration. So the 2022 elections will be about choosing and voting for the right candidate that will change the way of running things in our country without the use of violence, someone who’s patriot enough to battle for our sovereignty and will not turn into another ‘puppet’ of another country and lastly, a servant leader that will apply the essence of democracy by listening to the opinions of the masses. If we look through the political climate and the governance during the current administration, we could say that we deserve so much better than that, that is why we Filipinos need to participate in the upcoming elections by being a registered voter and to be smart and critical enough on choosing for the next leader of our nation that did not have the connection or affiliation with the current administration. The 2022 election serves as another torch of hope to save our nation from another cruel dynasty, so we must vote for change and for our country.
Dominic Sarip is a third year Political Science student in Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He is a consistent Dean's lister and at the same time, he serves as the Vice-President of the Letran Politicvs, the official Political Science organization of Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
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