Lacson finds solution to end political party confusion

To avoid common candidates on national electoral tickets and to prevent “bastardizing” of party affiliations, Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson proposed the return of the two-party system as the overarching solution to the country’s election woes.

“There must be an overarching solution to that, and it is a strong two-party system. Over time nawala na lahat yan sa atin, so it cannot be avoided to avoid common candidates, that’s why an overhaul of the party system is needed,” Lacson told Karen Davila on ANC’s “Headstart” in an exclusive interview.

The veteran lawmaker also stressed that politicians needed to continue educating the people to banish the “entertainment politics” and culture of mendicancy that sprouts during election season, especially with the 2022 national elections just six months away.

“Hindi maso-solve ng TikTok ang problema ng bansa, kaya pine-present namin ang ‘KKK’ – kakayahan, katapatan, katapangan – sa aming kampanya. Hindi pwede puro tayo entertainment politics, that’s why I said it’s very important to educate the electorate,” the 18-year senator told Davila.

True to its reform agenda, Partido Reporma seeks to change the electoral system to give Filipinos a government that will truly respond to their needs, and not just give them handouts expected from politicians in every election season “that actually comes from their own taxes,” Lacson said.

He clarified that Partido Reporma has three official candidates for senator – former national police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, former congressman Monsour del Rosario, and Dr. Minguita Padilla – but also supports candidates under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, which is led by his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

Apart from NPC, Partido Reporma is also allied with the National Unity Party of former Interior Secretary Ronaldo D. Puno.

Lacson himself stressed that he was a guest candidate of two political parties in the 2016 elections but said the “adoption” system and the practice of fielding common candidates will not end until the country’s party system is reformed.

Under the NPC’s lineup are Lacson and Sotto’s current colleague in the Senate, Sherwin Gatchalian, as well as former senators Chiz Escudero and Loren Legarda, former Cabinet member Manny Pinol, and former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista.

Also supported by Partido Reporma for the Senate are former Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Joel Villanueva and broadcast journalist Raffy Tulfo, who are running as independent candidates.

For now, Lacson said parties relied on gentleman’s agreements among their common candidates, who should only present their political platforms on stage and not declare their picks for president or vice president when on an opposing candidate’s campaign sortie.

“’Yun ang dapat i-define. Pinag-usapan na namin yan ni Tito Sen (Sotto), na kausapin sila (candidates) and at the very least, kapag sumama sila sa amin, huwag na sila mag-announce kung sino ang kanilang president or vice president candidate,” the former PNP chief answered Davila on her “bastardizing” question.

“Iyon lang ang hiling namin, kasi awkward naman pag kasama mo sa entablado pero iba ang isisigaw nilang candidate. Out of courtesy, that much we can also expect kapag nasa entablado sila ng iba, huwag nilang isigaw pangalan namin,” Lacson added.

“Malinaw ang usapan namin, hindi namin dine-demand na kami ay dalhin, but just have the courtesy of not shouting on stage or on any platform kung sino ang napusuan nila,” he added.

Common candidates, the Partido Reporma chairman said, in fact had the “good fortune” over one-party bets, as they get their names printed on sample ballots of two or more parties, which help inform voters when they go to the polls.

But voters should still ask for wisdom in making their choices, as Lacson said these are “desperate times” and that Filipinos should “think deeply about the future of the country” in picking their leaders for the next six years.

The Philippines last had a two-party system in the 1960s, when politicians were either with the Nacionalista Party or Liberal Party.

But scholars have said the restriction of the President to one six-year term without reelection after the 1987 Constitution has prevented the two-party system from reemerging.

Lacson finds solution to end political party confusion
Source: Philippines Clips