Ma. Rosano K. Garola*

Philippine presidential elections. Ferdinand E. Marcos wins reelection, a first in Philippine history. Massive cheating alleged. Continued promises of "this nation can be great again" ventilate the air.

Snap presidential elections. In a televised American program interview a few months earlier, Marcos suddenly agrees to snap elections, clearly confident of a continuing mandate from the people to lead the nation. Officially proclaimed as winner by a rubber-stamped legislature, the Batasang Pambansa. But Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, widow of slain Marcos, opponent. Benlgno Aquino, Jr. likewise claims victory. A military putsch supported by a groundswell of civilian support culminates in the historic "people power" at EDSA. Aquino becomes de facto Philippine president after Marcos flees to the U.S.A. Again, massive cheating is alleged. Pro-people promises (on issues such as land reform and foreign debt servicing) forged during the formation of a Convenors' Group, raise hopes in the general populace of some qualitative change, especially after the general economic decline in the later Marcos years.

Synchronized Philippine national elections. Corazon Aquino does not run for reelection but "anoints" former Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos as her presidential candidate. Ramos leads in the latest Congressional tally (as of 8 June 1992). A generally clean and orderly election is reported throughout the country. The promises of EDSA largely forgotten, an even graver economic crisis, charges of inept governance by the Aquino government, and a general social malaise arising from discontent, challenge the next leadership.

Within the context of Philippine society, presidential elections have been the arena of power struggles between contending elitist political groups, members of whom have supported or joined the two main traditional political parties: the Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party. Before Marcos disrupted the continuity of national elections, winning presidential aspirants came from one or the other party. After Marcos declared Martial Law in .1972, one monolithic party came into existence, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL).

Largely discredited after the fall of Marcos from power in 1986, the KBL was replaced by a new rainbow coalition that eventually gelled into the Lapiang Demokratikong Pilipino. The days of the 2-party system were definitely over. In the May 1992 elections, seven political parties - mostly political power blocs-each fleded a presidential candidate. An eighth, that of Joseph Estrada, was left hanging when its presidential bet withdrew and decided to run for the vice-presidency under another political banner.

The May 1992 elections, aside from being the first regular elections after more than twenty years, were unique in two aspects. For the first time, synchronized elections were held. This meant that the posts of president, Vice-president, senators, congressmen, governors and mayors with their respective boards and councils would be chosen all in one electoral activity. If logistics and organizational preparations were not well planned and implemented, nightmarish conditions could have occurred.

Credit for the generally peaceful and orderly elections that happened goes to the Commission on Elections. Seen more as an obedient, subservient body during the Marcos era, the COMELEC gained much credibility before and during the elections, at least in the eyes of the general populace. Stringent campaign measures and physical presence and-on-the-spot management in critical areas contributed to this credibility. Especially singled out were its Chairman, economist Christian Monsod, and the feisty lady Commissioner, lawyer Haydee Yorac.

And so it came to pass that the around 85% of the Filipino voting population went to the polls that bright day of May. Who were the people who presented themselves as future leaders? What issues and ideas did they bring forward for their people to think about? What kind of society could Filipinos look forward to given the views of the winning presidential candidate?

Incumbent Vice-President Salvador H. Laurel was standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party. with former Senator Eva Estrada-Kalaw as his vice-presidential bet. Re brought to the polls an "unblemished name and public service record."(1) Former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga with his stance for ''clean government and adherence to law" led the Liberal Party which joined up with PDP-Laban of Aquilino Pimentel who became his runningmate. The Speaker of the House Ramon V. Mitra, "taking full responsibility for the next six years" together with former Chief Justice Marceio Fernan, led the current majority party, the Lapiang Demokratikong Pllipino.

The two women candidates were former Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago of the People's Reform Party and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, who both had Magsaysay cousins as their runningmates: Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. and Vicente Magsaysay, respectively. Santiago vowed "out with traditional politics", while Marcos pitted the 20 years of her husband's rule against the 6 years of Aquino.

Former Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos, handpicked by Pres. Aquino, led his Lakas ng EDSA which teamed up with the National Union of Christian Democrats of Foreign Affairs Secretary Raul Manglapus. His runniugmate was Cebu governor Emiho, Osmena; his campaign slogan: people empowerment from EDSA 86 to EDsa 92. Finally, forqier Ambassador, businessman Edurardo M. Cojuangco, Jr. of the Nationalist People's (NP) Coalition ran on a platform of "business brass tacks and management acumen". His runningrnate who has enjoyed a comfortable lead over all other vice- presidential aspirants is Senator Joseph E. Estrada, whose Partidong Masang Pilipino was left in the lurch.

Several journalists interviewed the candidates on a wide range of issues which were then published in a book produced by the Ateneo Center for Social Policy and Public Affairs. The candidates' views revealed therein showed just how well-informed or not each was with the problems that beset the Philippines today.

One issue where six of them appear to have found common ground was the insurgency issue. Estrada, Fernan, Laurel and Santiago were for "general amnesty" to political prisoners and insurgents who either wish to "return to the fold of the law" or "forswear the use of violence to achieve political ends."

Mitra favored a "new round of negotiations" while Salonga proposed an "open disucssion" of the issue. Only Ramos firmly maintained the intensification of the "total (war) approach through a comprehensive...program based on the partnership of civilians and the military/police."

The foreign debt issue elicited clearly divergent views. Cojuangco, Ramos; Santiago, Mitra and Laurel would honor all our foreign debts. Estrada, on the other hand, proposed to "suspend payment" and channel savings to expenditures in Infrastructure and social services.

What were starkly absent, though, were firm perspectives on many social and sectoral issues: in science and technology, human rights, women, population, overseas migrant workers and foreign policy. In most of these issues, only two or three have expressed policy frameworks and proposals. In most cases, their proposals have been so ambiguous, they are meaningless.

In the field of human rights, Salonga talked about "punishing torturers," Fernan about human rights protection "in accordance with the Consitution," "while Esuada wanted to widen the scope of legal assistance and enact laws to ensure non-partisanship of the police and the courts."

Ramos, on the other hand, never talked about "human rights" but expressed that the country's laws, "oftentimes titled in favour of civil liberties, tend to be exploited as a cover for subversives." He professed "less tolerance for agitators and saboteurs" and promised td "vigorously fight those who aim to destroy what we worked so hard to build."

Foreign policy appears to be another weak area of the presidentiables. Likewise, most of the erstwhile aspirants were not for redistributive measures like agrarian reform and investment in education. Preoccupation with decreased government spending will "ultimately hurt the poor who have no voice in the decision-making process." That means less budget for health, education, social welfare, among others. There are no concrete measures for promoting science and technology.

Apprehensions have been expressed that since many of those seeking the highest office of the land may not really be prepared to deal with these complex issues, the "wrong guy" may grab the throne, making May 11 "the crueist joke in this Year of the Monkey."

As each day passed with Fidel Ramos maintaining his lead over Miriam Santiago, albeit on a mere plurality, (3) Filipinos remain gravely concerned over the future. Given the pre-election pronouncements of Ramos, his military background and his promise to continue basic programs of Aquino, future Philippine leadership may even be more conservative than that of Aquino. A proponent of national security, Ramos believes that in the tension between national security and human rights, especially when "the State Is under slege, and invokes its right to defend itself," such tension "overrides individual rights to privacy, property, civil liberties and even physical well-being."

Faced with a burgeoning foreign and domestic debt, whoever succeeds Aquino as President has the unenviable task of setting new economic policies that will turn Philippine economy onto healthier levels and at the same time, service foreign debt. Ramos has said that he favors the payment of all foreign debt. He also has said that the solution to generate funds for this is for more dollar reserves through investments, exports, tourism and remittances from overseas workers. One can glean from this then that the present export-oriented, foreign-investment, tourism-oriented economy will continue at the expense of the basic needs of majority of Filipinos.

To promote an economic climate that would be conducive to economic progress in the context of an export-oriented, investment-led economy, he believes that industrial peace must be maintained. Hence, he has very limited tolerance for trade union militancy and will vigorously resist agitators and saboteurs.

To compound things further, the current energy crisis that has affected even big businesses has brought to national consciousness the debate over the Bataaan Nuclear Power Plant. Two factors contribute to the uproar over its suggested reactivation: 1) the onerous nature of the loan negotiated by Marcos to build the power plant and 2) the safety aspects of both the plant and the land it was built on this is yet not to mention the debate over the use of nuclear power as energy source. The crisis also showed the flaw in the decision to abolish the Department of Energy early in the Aquino term without undertaking alternative energy measures to avert the current situation.

In the political aspect, the incoming president, will have to deal with an oppositionist legislature. While this may be good for the ventiation of different views on major issues, the possibility looms large that an obstructionist Congress may not pass bills which the Executive deems necessary and vital. Again, this can be avoided if the incoming president reconciles differences with and among erstwhile competitors. In the end, though, the bottom line for such agreements will certainly not be the welfare of the majority of Filipinos, but more for the protection of the various interests that each and every political family or bloc has accumulated through the years. It is then not very far from the truth that change, from the perspective of a long-suffering people bearing the brunt of all these, will remain as elusive as ever.

1. Quotes in this subsection are taken from The Philippine PANORAMA, February 16, 1992 issue.
2. "The Test of Platforms" by Dave Llorito, Manila Chronicle, February 15-21, 1992.
3. The lead of Ramos over Defensor dropped to an all-time low of 66,000 votes as of 3:OQ p.m. (9 June, 1992).