With still more than a year to go before the next national elections, the business of politics seems to be taking an early start.
Political movements of sorts are already taking shape, spearheaded by business groups, which apparently still adhere to the thinking that in business and politics, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Or campaign contribution!
Word goes around that a group calling itself “Coalition for the Deserving,” for instance, recently gathered at one of the first-class hotels in the metropolis to formalize their “campaign” for the elections next year.
And that is, well, the coalition will support certain candidates in 2010. How? Basically, with funding!
Now, with such an aim, the group must have a pretty good financial muscle. And how does anybody gain such muscle if not through the backing of business?
I mean, come on, no NGO or religious sect can be that rich to waste money on political candidates. In this country, after all, elections gobble up billions upon billions of pesos from businesses — both big and small.
But what is the difference between the “Coalition for the Deserving” and all those hundreds of pseudo political movements?
My info is that the coalition is going to pick candidates from both sides of the fence, meaning, both from the opposition and the administration.
As far as I can tell, the coalition will not just use hunch in picking its candidates. In fact, it wants to distance itself from political parties, choosing candidates on the basis of their competence. You know — like a “third force”!
Anyway, the coalition organizers — coming from different affiliations such as provincial NGOs, political parties like KBL, Reforma, Aksyon, Bigkis Pinoy and possibly the El Shaddai religious movement of Mike Velarde — took more than a year to get their act together.
The group boasts of more than a thousand vehicles nationwide for the use of their chosen candidates.
Thus, expect no mudslinging from the group. Its goal is purely to build up the candidates of its choosing.
Also, its think-tank will soon come out with the criteria for the selection, based primarily on track record in public service. Also at the top of the list is the manner by which the candidates conduct their private affairs.
Do we take it to mean, boss, candidates do not qualify for support if they have mistresses? Just asking!
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Who said only the rich and famous can merit the attention of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, or HRET?
Well, a couple of years ago, simple folk named Jesus Vicente filed a case before the HRET against Rep. Dan Fernandez of Laguna province.
As a result, the HRET disqualified Fernandez from serving as congressional representative of the First District of Laguna.
Reason: Fernandez failed to meet the one-year residency requirement for congressional candidates.
That is only dictated by the Constitution, by the way.
In 2007, a lawyer named Noel Tiampong served Fernandez the petition for disqualification, and by doing so, accidentally discovered the congressman’s real and actual residence.
In previous elections, Fernandez declared his permanent residence to have been in Pagsanjan, which was in the Fourth District of Laguna.
All of a sudden in 2007, he claimed to have moved to Sta. Rosa City, which was located in the First District, although he did not actually abandon his residence in Pagsanjan.
That, according to the tribunal, only showed that his sole purpose was to circumvent the constitutional requirement.
The HRET noted that Fernandez could not even present concrete proof of his residency in the First District.
Even his so-called neighbors in his supposed house in the First District testified that they never saw him there.
In case you are interested, the HRET is made up of Supreme Court Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Conchita Carpio-Morales; Reps. Mauricio Domogan, Fredenil Castro, Roberto Cajes, Solomon Chungalao and Florencio Miraflores. They voted 7-2 against Fernandez.
Now who were the two who voted in his favor?
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The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) conferred the title “Tribune of the People” on lawyer Frank Chavez.
He was the solicitor general during the administration of President Corazon Aquino.
But that is not the reason he received the honor.
According to the NUPL, Chavez received the title “in recognition of his persistent, unwavering and continuing fight these past 38 years for freedom, justice and democracy, espousing in the process, public interest cases and the cause of the poor, the needy and the oppressed, among which are the acquittal of more than 500 detainees during the Martial Law on trumped-up charges of sedition, inciting to rebellion; the Tarlac to Tarmac cases; press and religious freedom cases; Lino Brocka inciting to sedition cases; the three Davao lawyers’ cases; the Juan Ponce Enrile Sykorsky helicopter libel case; the Escalante massacre; the mistrial of the century, and the Bar-Marcos proclamation case.” I just hope I did not miss anything.
Oh, yes, Chavez also filed four—and I mean, four—plunder charges against the Lola at the Palace, two of which involved former Agriculture undersecretary Joc-joc Bolante.
And who make up the NUPL? Its president is Fred Gapuz and some of its well known members are Sen. Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr., Sen. Manuel Villar and Sen. Francis Pangilinan, plus, of course, Supreme Court Justice Leonardo Quisumbing.
