The announcement of UP Professor Randy David to battle PGMA head-on in the coming 2010 elections if she ever choose to run as a congresswoman in Pampanga elicited imagery of the popular Bible story of the battle between David and the giant Goliath. In this case, the tiny Gloria is the giant Goliath and the taller Randy became David.
However, this imagery is not new in the Philippine politics. For so many times in the past elections, many Davids tried their luck to fight the Goliaths in their provinces or in their towns. These people, many of whom wanted to change the way their municipal or provincial government was governed, fought earth and hell for a tiny chance to defeat the corrupt Goliaths.
In other words, political Davids in the Philippines rarely wins against the Goliaths, especially those Goliaths that are very influential and very wealthy so as to easily tap the political machinery operated by other Goliaths. The political David that I could remember that defeated a Goliath is Governor Ed Panlilio who toppled the Lapids in Pampanga.
Target the Local Arena
I believe that one way of cleaning up our corrupt political system is to cleanse it from the local government level up to the national government level. That is, we should not focus only on the Senators, the Vice-Presidents and the Presidents in deciding who could lead the country well. We should also scrutinize the mayors, the governors, the congressmen, and all local political posts.
Consequently, we should not also place our full attention on the senatorial positions, vice-presidential and presidential positions when propping up a candidate. Positions in the local government should also be focused on by those people who want to fix the government. The reason why the three senatorial candidates of the KAPATIRAN Party lost in the past election is because they do not have enough support from the local level.
Groups that are aiming to fix the government should focus on the local arena. I believe that there are many political Davids in this arena and what these Davids should do is to consolidate their forces. Share each other’s idea, resources and connections. The political David’s should not only think locally but also think that their victory in the local arena will contribute into the betterment of the country. What I mean here of course is that political Davids like Randy David, Ed Panlilio, and Governor Padaca of Isabela should form an alliance, a Political Party so as to increase their chance of survival.
I believe that a political party ran by these people will be more meaningful than those parties with the name PALAKA (Partidong Lakas Kampi), Liberal Party, NPC etc. Their actions to serve the people are an inspiration enough to draw well-meaning people to their side. A Political Party or a clear alliance is needed so that the people will have a focal point to focus their efforts on and not waste their effort on fragmentary and chaotic actions against the corrupt Goliaths.
The consolidation of all the political Davids in the country will be force to be reckoned with, but the sad thing is that is yet to be realized.
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Related articles:
What Randy Davud Must do to Win in Filipino Voices.
David Versus Goliath by the Pedestrian Observer
Roxas: Randy David will be LP’s Bet vs GMA in Mar Roxas Blogspot.
Read my new articles in Before the Eastern Sunset. One is about my Good Saturday with a good friend, and the other is my take On Being a Loner.
Filed under: Politik | Tagged: 2010 elections, political party, randy david | Leave a Comment »

