The 'Senatoriables'

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The fluttering political butterflies of the national level have settled down as our "Senatoriables" have finally chosen their hosts, at least for the next three months, as the senatorial slates of both the administration and opposition have, more or less, been finalized. In another display of the immaturity of the Filipino electoral process, another campaign of personalities, most of whom are guilty of choosing a political party out of convenience rather than conviction, has begun.

The ruling party has a lot hanging on this election, and everyone is expecting it to pull out all the stops to ensure political survival of its figurehead. Its desperation was apparent when it accepted into its fold candidates who feel that they have to justify their inclusion into the party in national dailies. Re-electionist Senators Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto published a joint statement where they emphasized their independence from the President, finding it necessary to point out to the public the instances that they have opposed the administration. They then proceed to defend their decision in joining the administration slate by pointing out the lack of direction of the "united" opposition.

The opposition, provided with this rare opportunity to legitimately seize power in both Houses, has horribly failed to find a reason for its existence noble enough to be adopted by the frustrated Filipino people as their own cause. With all the issues hounding the President, this midterm election was supposed to be a cakewalk. How they managed to drop the ball is beyond the comprehension of the armchair political analysts of the country but the consensus is that if the opposition manages to lose this election, they will have no one to blame but themselves.

If candidates can hop from party to party for the sake of political survival, then where do these people stand on the important issues and how far will they go to defend their beliefs before changing their minds again? In the Philippines where name recall and popularity are the biggest measures of winnability in an election, the candidates may have forgotten that the posts they are vying for hold them to higher standards of character and decency. The responsibility therefore, lies with the Filipino voter who should impose this set of standards on the candidates through their ballots.*