—Michael Shellenberger
By Alex P. Vidal
THE recent decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to formulate a shorter parameter for the withdrawal and substitution of candidates in the 2025 elections, was bad news to some political dynasties making a mockery of the electoral system for the past years.
Any attempt to confuse the voters and their political rivals and use the Comelec to marshal their deception and pretensions suddenly came to a screeching halt.
We know one notorious political dynasty in Iloilo that have mastered the art of substitution during the election. For several elections now, the clan has institutionalized this electoral hypocrisy.
The clan would dispatch dummy candidates to file their certificates of candidacy (COC) in the early stage of the filing of candidacy.
In the eleventh hour, members of the notorious clan would switch with their dummies. The clan has been doing this trickery in the elections since after the EDSA Revolution. It’s so laughable that it made wonders for them as they dominated politics in their district until now.
The voters actually were aware of this gimmickry and hypocrisy on the part of this political clan, but they couldn’t do anything since they would anyway vote for the same characters in the clan that have been switching positions in every election.
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The Comelec’s amazing move has spotlighted the apparent abuse of the practice in recent years by parties that intentionally fielded placeholder candidates to make strategic last-minute substitutions.
According to Comelec chairman George Garcia, the poll body unanimously agreed during an en banc session to allow candidates to be substituted only until October 8 this year, except for reasons of death or disqualification.
Loud and clear. The past practices by sneaky parties and dynasties to trick the voters and their rivals have been totally eviscerated.
Garcia earlier described the practice as akin to "deceiving" voters.
It can be recalled that in the 2016 presidential election, using placeholder candidates to apparently “buy time” and generate hype for a candidate became notoriously commonplace following then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's substitution of late PDP-Laban’s Martin Diño.
The tactic was also repeated later on by Duterte's daughter, then-Davao City Sara Duterte-Carpio, when she filed her candidacy for vice presidency in the 2022 polls as a substitute for Lakas-CMD’s Lyle Uy, two days before deadline.
If they were honest and sincere, there was no need for them to use dummies and practice deviousness to win an election. Candidates who patronize this double-dealing style of presenting themselves to the people to woe their votes should be feared for they will always employe deception to get what they want.
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(Ika-008 nga Binalaybay sa Serye nga Tag-irinit nga ginbalay ni Ambassador Leo Tito L. Ausan, Jr. sang ika-13 sang Mayo, 2024, sang mga alas 4:12 tubtob 4:23 sang hapon, sa Dhaka, Bangladesh, ginligwat sang gamay sang kaagahon sang ika-14 sang Mayo, 2024.)
DAW MGA SAPAT
I
Gintuga sa bayhon sang Ginuo,
Apang subong DAW MGA SAPAT
Halos sila tanan ang sa sining tion nagkalalipat
Nga sang Makaako sila ang kaliwat!
II
Ano pa ang palabtik ni anhing ugangan ko nga si Pat
Kon sa ila ang isambit ukon ibungat,
Wala sang kapin kag kulang, ini gid sa ila tanan ang sampat,
Kay matuod gid man, nga madamu na sa ila ang subong DAW MGA SAPAT!
III
Ano gid bala kag ayhan, ang kinahanglan,
Agud indi malipat?
Ining mga tinuga sang Diyos,
Nga sila gali Iya nga mga kaliwat?
Pinasahi gid bala nga sahi sang guripat?
Inang “plais”, ang ginagamit sa dulunggan pag-unat?
IV
Ayhan ang mas- maayo nga pagabuhaton,
Ang manumbalik sila sa aton Manunugang, gintunaan kag Magpakatawo,
Kag sila tanan dulungan nga mag-ampo sa Mahal nga Ginuo?
Kay, inidi bala, ini gid man ang nagakaigo kag dapat?
Ilisan kag kalimtan na nila ang pamatasan nga sa ila indi sampat,
SUMUGOD SUBONG MAGBINATASAN SILA NGA DAW MGA TINUGA NIYA NGA TAWO,
NGA ANG BAYHON KATULAD SANG MAHAL NGA GINUO,
KAG INDI SILA MGA SAPAT!!..
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The NBA Playoffs are inching closer to the Eastern and Western conference finals, with the Boston Celtics awaiting the winner of today's Game 7 matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.
In the West, Denver and Minnesota squared off in Game 7 of their series. The winner would face the Dallas Mavericks.
We all know top-tier professional athletes make a lot of money, but if you ever wondered just how much, we've got you covered. CNN reported that Forbes' list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo earned $260 million over the last 12 months — $200 million from his club contract and $60 million in off-field earnings. Ronaldo is followed by golfer Jon Rahm, who joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour in a lucrative three-year deal in December and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
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