By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
My wish for a two party system
I was in grade 6 in the elementary when President Ramon Magsaysay died in a plane crash at Mt. Pinatubo in Cebu. Vice President Carlos P. Garcia, our very own Boholano patriot from Talibon, assumed the presidency of the country after the death of President Magsaysay. I think that was the time when I was initiated into the two party system of the Philippines.
So, in my observation, all those who became president came from the province: Magsaysay from Zambales, Roxas from Capiz, Osmena Sr. from Cebu, Macapagal from Lubao Pampanga, Marcos Sr. from the Ilocos region, Cory Aquino from Tarlac, except Joseph Ejercito Estrada who hails from San Juan, Metro Manila. Quezon was from Tayabas and the place is now called Quezon province, named after him. There was Quirino, too, from the Ilocos region.
Akong mahinumduman nga adtong panahona, dili uso ang balhinbalhin ug partido. I noticed that there was what we call as the “party ideals”. And everybody in every family embraced the idealism of his political party. Usahay mag away ang familya tungod lang sa partido. Adtong panahon mura man ug inangayan lang akong nabantayan na pagahimoon sa politiko. Walay palitay sa boto. Pakaon ug pabawon sa botante ang gipanghatag. Lisud pa gyud ang mga kalsada. Layo pud imong lakwon and presinto. The party had to raise funds for that purpose. I also could not remember if there was such a practice as “kinamangay” before the day of the elections.
Our senators and congressmen, then, were real statesmen. At our very young age during our elementary years, we used to have the subject Current Events. I may not be able to enumerate all of them, but many names in Current Events are still etched in my memory. Some of them are the names of : Tanada, Padilla, Claro M. Recto, Teodoro Locsin, Raul Manglapus, Emmanuel Pelaez, Gerry Roxas, Ninoy Aquino, Climaco, Diokno, Tolentino, Lopez, Amang Rodriguez.
I am privileged to have seen in person the following Liberal Party stalwarts because of my Oyong Ando who was then a die hard Liberal Party believer: Recto, Gerry Roxas, Ninoy Aquino, Climaco, Diokno and Maning Pelaez who later transferred to the Nacionalista Party. When Pelaez changed political parties, he was labeled by my Oyong Ando as a political butterfly. At that time, shifting to another party was some kind of a capital offense.
We were also exposed, then, to the political issues of the land through reading materials. My Oyong Ando never missed a copy of the Manila Bulletin as he had his subscription of this reading material while my mother had the The Philippine Free Press of Teodoro Locsin Sr.
However, the two party system was lost during martial law years. And when we had our freedom of constitution after the bloodless Edsa Revolution, the multi party system was born. What happened then was the rise of the oppressed becoming oppressive. At the first taste of freedom, the “balimbings” came into being.
And here they are in today’s society. Like the butterfly, they hop from one party to another, whichever would suit their political ambitions resulting to: greed, perpetuation in power, corruption, political dynasty, graft, bribery, cronyism, nepotism, impunity, embezzlement, extorition, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, vote buying, lack of transparency, lack of sufficient enforcement of laws, and lack of support for human rights.
And the list is becoming longer!
