DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 March) – Vice presidential candidate Walden Bello, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, said the united front of political elites undermines “real democracy” in the country and should be dismantled.
At the online forum, “Candid Dates 2022” on Friday afternoon, Bello said elections in the country have always been a competition between political parties ruled by “national, regional, and local elites” who fail to empower the people to effect change.
Candid Dates 2022, a series of online conversations between Mindanawon voters and candidates running for President, Vice President and local seats in the May 9, 2022 elections, is presented by the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS) and co-presented by the Initiatives for International Dialogue, MindaNews and the Mindanao Consortium of Ateneo comprising the Ateneo de Davao, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro. It is livestreamed via the Facebook page of the Ateneo de Davao University.
“We have a situation in the Philippines. We have a political system that is very competitive in terms of competition among elites. However, the elites form a united front,” he said.
He said politicians who get elected to government positions through partisan politics do not address social justice issues, including, among others, land reform, taxes, minimum wages, and basic needs of their constituents.
He said democracy in the country has been enjoyed only by the elites.
Bello, running mate of presidential candidate and labor leader Leodegario “Ka Leody” De Guzman under Partido Lakas ng Masa, said the rule of the political elites must end.
“What is the difference between elite and the masses? The elites are organized and the masses are unorganized. We’ve got to turn it around; we’ve got to organize the masses and disorganize the elites,” he said.
He vowed to promote the interests of the people and bring in mechanisms of empowerment, saying there are provisions under the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991 that have not been acted upon because of the refusal of local elites to really empower people.”
Bello said the public must be given the chance to participate in the budgeting process, by organizing the ordinary citizens independently to bring about real democracy at the grassroots.
He said the LGC has provisions that can provide for mechanisms to empower the people.
“To promote the interest of the people is to mobilize them around demands that fulfill their interest, empower them by really hearing what they have to say, and organizing whether through NGOs or through LGUs,” he said.
He said they have become “controversial candidates” for their party’s transformative program that will hurt the “elites and political dynasties,” including the “super rich” through the imposition of “wealth taxes.”
“This is why, we’re seeing a great deal of caution and opposition by local elites and national elites dismissing as communist, terrorists — all the things you’ve been hearing for years, concentrated on Leody and myself,” he said.
He said they are the only candidates who have not received support from the billionaires to fund their candidacy.
“In contrast to all other candidates, who we feel most of them are really in the pocket of big billionaires, you can see this when it comes to spending, that they’ve been doing in this election. You are talking about Ping Lacson having spent nearly P1 billion as per 2021 electoral expenses, Isko Moreno P750M, Leni Robredo P500M, (Ferdinand) Marcos about P350M plus spending much more in the next few months,” he said
Despite their limited election fund, he said they will still push through to offer the public alternative candidates who will push for solutions to serious problems in the country, including P750 daily minimum wage, an end to contractualization, abolition of manpower agencies, repeal of Rice Tariffication Act, triple agricultural budget, and an amendment to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law to complete the land reform process.
He said their campaign fund “comes from small contributions from NGOs, from ordinary citizens but we’re fighting this out because we feel that Filipinos do need an alternative who would offer them a better life,” he said. (Antonio R. Colina IV / MindaNews)