Delusional and deceptive

Televised interviews of politicians are either a waste of time because the interviewee’s sole objective is to dupe the audience into thinking that if he is seen on TV, he is probably important. Such interviews are likewise indications of the state of mind of the politician.

Take the TV interview last Tuesday of Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, the head of the Liberal Party (LP). In his typical condescending countenance and holier-than-thou attitude, Pangilinan unwittingly revealed that the LP was so desperate to get votes for its senatorial ticket for the May 2019 elections that the party will not hesitate to use misleading information to deceive the electorate.

When asked why the LP and its anti-administration allies fielded only eight candidates in a race for 12 seats in the Senate, Pangilinan said it was a strategic move on their part, i.e. since voters often do not vote for all the candidates of a particular political party, fielding eight candidates eliminates the possibility of having one-third of their senatorial ticket ending up in defeat.

Pangilinan obviously thinks voters are gullible.

When the LP was in power in 2013, it fielded a full ticket for the Senate confident that its unlimited access to government resources will deliver the votes. Now that the LP is the object of political scorn and public disdain, it is unable to attract enough credible and qualified candidates to complete a 12-man slate. That’s the real score, one far different from the statistical double talk Pangilinan did on TV.

The composition of the senatorial lineup endorsed by the LP also underscores the lack of credible and qualified candidates willing to run under this moribund, publicly disgraced political party.

Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, who leads what Pangilinan called the “Ocho Diretso” ticket, is doing rather poorly in the surveys, despite his being an ex-senator.

Roxas seems to be the only viable candidate of the LP and he may possibly make it to number 11 or 12, not because he has popular support, but because three non-LP senatorial candidates doing fairly well in the surveys, namely, Grace Poe, Sergio Osmeña III and Aquilino Pimentel III, face possible disqualification even if they win.

Poe’s citizenship issue has not been authoritatively resolved by the Supreme Court. The 2013 SC ruling in her favor is not doctrinal jurisprudence because it does not have the support of a majority vote among the justices. Only natural-born Filipinos may run for the Senate.

Osmeña failed to submit the requisite campaign expenditure documents for the last two elections he participated in, which is a ground for disqualification.

Pimentel is running for a third consecutive term in the Senate, which is explicitly prohibited by the Constitution.

If any or all three are eventually disqualified, Roxas may have a statistical chance of landing among the winning 12.

Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, the first cousin of ex-President Benigno Aquino III (who may be sued soon for his incompetent handling of the Mamasapano mission), has not done anything substantial in the Senate other than ride on the populist bills of other senators. In his obvious desire to exploit his relationship to Ninoy Aquino, Bam Aquino always dresses up to look like his famous uncle. This member of the Aquino family dynasty has not been doing very well in the surveys, too.

The other LP-endorsed candidates have no chance of winning.

Voters see Gary Alejano as an ex-military mutineer who violated his oath to defend the Constitution when he and the soon-to-be ex-Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV launched a coup attempt against then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Alejano’s inclusion in the LP senatorial ticket underscores the LP’s contempt for the Constitution.

Two other candidates, one of whom is left-leaning, think they will win simply because they are descendants of ex-senators. Another was a government lawyer who twisted the Constitution to accommodate an alien elected to the Senate in 2013 but defeated in the presidential polls of 2016.

Perhaps their only hope of winning is that the automated voting machines will malfunction in their favor on election day.

Obviously, Pangilinan, who is not a candidate this year, will do everything just to fool the voters in preparation for May 2019. Just imagine what he will do to fool the voters in May 2022 when he will be a candidate.