by Ram Maxey
There was a time some months back when newspapers reminded Filipino voters that the countdown to Election 2010 was 90 days. Much, much later they trumpeted the reminder that it was 43 days to E-Day. Then, 30 days. Time marches on inexorably. There’s no staying it. The clock ticks away, regardless of what you or me or the rest of the world do.
Twenty-one days from today will be the day of reckoning, especially for the thousands of candidates in this country. Will they make it to the winners’ podium—or, will they be among the thousands of disappointed, disheartened losers? To the victors belong the spoils. Runners-up don’t count. Nobody loves a loser. That’s the way it has always been. That’s the way it will always be. Euphoria for the victors, heartache and bitterness for the losers.
I suppose that by now, after all the hard, exhausting campaign, all the money spent (much of it down the drain by May 10 for the also-rans) and the bitter, painful exchanges of barbs and insults—indications show that some of the wannabes are certain of victory while the rest are having butterflies in their belly in the expectation of defeat. That’s normal. That’s the way of elections anywhere, but more profound in this country because the Pinoy is a political animal, bar none. He takes his politics seriously enough to want to strangle rivals, if only that were not a crime. But there has been bloodshed on the run-up to May 10, where certain candidates and their supporters will not be around on E-Day because they are six feet under. Others like them are sure to follow between now and E-Day, simply because some Pinoys are bad losers and are loathe to lose face.
What contributes to the crescendo of violence perpetrated by hotheads are the periodic poll surveys which tell us who are ahead or behind in the campaign, kuno. Those in the lead welcome the survey results while those who are shown to be lagging behind, despite calling the surveys “rigged”, just the same mount a desperate push to turn things around in their favor. You can tell this by the amount of new campaign materials sprouting all over town as well as a surge in media exposure.
Desperate men are liable to commit desperate acts, and it is during the last couple of weeks left in the campaign that such acts become more palpable. Where previously only insults and the like were resorted to in order to put rivals in a bad light, the last days will be notable for accusations of threats of mayhem coming supposedly from the camps of rivals, albeit sans evidence. In fact, some threats are manufactured by losing candidates to gain sympathy for themselves while at the same time pointing an accusing finger at the rival camps. In a bitterly fought Philippine election, anything goes.
And “anything” means just that–ANYTHING! That’s an understatement in the context of Philippine elections.
