THE MOUNTAINEER

Sympathy votes
Edison L. Baddal

In a mysterious turn of events, a kind of curious deviation was observed during the last elections. In the race for local positions in Cordillera, not a few family members who took the cudgels for their deceased kin clobbered their respective opponents convincingly.

The deaths, though, were not all due to electoral violence as some were due to natural causes. Interestingly, some of the winning candidates were widowed (or rendered a widower) in the course of the campaign while others became sort of nemesis for a brother’s violent death months prior to the campaign.

Either whether this is a new phenomenon or not in the political landscape of the country cannot be categorically concluded yet. Nevertheless, based from election results, chances are a novel paradigm is in the offing in the dynamics of Philippine elections. As an adage stressed, nothing is permanent except change and if this is any indication of more favorable changes to color the profile of future elections, then change through the ballot will finally become reality.

In Mt. Province at least two candidates who were deprived of their respective mates during the elections won in the positions they aspired for. Or, more specifically, the position that their deceased mate aspired to.

One such winner is Eufemia Lamen. A long time professor of the Mountain Province State Polytechnique College, she was thrust as a substitute candidate for board member of District I in place of her husband Binky after the latter was downed by a fatal stroke in a campaign sortie in the early days of the campaign.

Her hubby was then running for the position. Incidentally, she has never been a candidate herself for any political position before. But she always campaigned energetically for her husband in whatever political fray her husband dabbled in and this could be her first exposure to the rough and tumble of politics.
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Many in the know contend that her indefatigable sorties in every corner of the province during electoral campaign contributed significantly to her hubby’s victories. This is aside from having the glitter of the magic name of “Lamen” appended to the name.

The husband is the namesake of that fightingest, outspoken and most revered politician hereabouts, Alfredo G. Lamen, Sr. For her staunch support, Alfredo G. Lam-en Jr., more known as “Binky”, won as vice-governor in 1988. When no governor was proclaimed in 1988, he was installed as acting governor from 1988-1991. He also served as board member for District I from 1998-2001. No less than the wife’s unstinting support was credited for both victories.

Last May 14, Femy as she’s fondly called, emerged number one from a horde of 14 aspirants for the four slots of board member for District I. Many are implying that the sympathy generated by the sudden demise of her hubby may have contributed a lot to the win. From all indications, this could be partly true although other factors could have also contributed.

Having once worked with her up close and personal, I dare say that some of her endearing traits as a person likewise contributed in no small measure to her victory. These traits, like her spunky mettle and profound savvy, certainly served her in good stead in the run-up to the elections.

Moreover, the hundreds of students that she mentored at MPSPC could have surely rallied to her side through their votes. Precisely, all the equations that factored in her victory only indicate that the win was no fluke although the pathos of sympathy certainly factored considerably in it.

In the same manner, councilor-elect Alexander Fakat of Tocucan, Bontoc became a widower in the course of the campaign. An obscure candidate but nonetheless carrying a well known name in the capital town, there is no doubt that the sympathy generated by the personal tragedy became his wellspring of votes.

Though it could be said that he could have won even without the tragedy despite a relatively humble background, the pathos due from the incident unmistakably redounded to his favor. It definitely upped his electoral chances. Thus, his lack of education and a humble background notwithstanding, he bested all his rivals to the post of councilor with a number one rank in the just concluded elections.

Elsewhere in other parts of the Cordilleras , sympathy and empathy won the day through poll victories for some candidates.
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In Kalinga, for instance, the widow of Atty. Diasen is currently pacing the votes by a mile over Rep. Wacnang for the governorship. If the trend continues in her favor (she could have been proclaimed at this time of writing sans legal impediments), she would be the first electoral lass of the province. This would be an upset win as the latter has been lording it over the politics of Kalinga for two decades and hitherto undefeated.

Atty. Diasen, the incumbent vice-governor then, was slain at Tabuk, Kalinga in broad daylight allegedly by a young assailant. This transpired while the former was speaking at a campaign rally sometime in March while he was campaigning then for governor. Taking the bull by the horns, his aggrieved wife garnered empathy and sympathy borne out of the tragedy and galvanized support for the bereaved widow as evidenced by her preponderance of votes over her more seasoned opponent.
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Same mold is developing in Abra where a spate of killings of elective leaders, widely believed to be politically motivated, virtually turned the province into a no man’s land in the last few years. The serialized killings started with the murder of Mayor Segundo in 2001, followed by the gunning down of Mayor Benwaren. Assassins were about to liquidate a lady mayor’s family but one got cold feet and spilled the beans to the authorities so that the odious plan was eventually abandoned.

The last straw that practically broke the camel’s back was the cold-blooded assassination of being trounced by his lady rival in the race for congressman. On the other hand, his wife has been soundly kayoed by her stalwart rival. The late Congressman Bersamin’s death ignited sympathy for the bereaved family through massive votes. In the same vein, Luna’s current preponderance of votes over those of Valera is also an expression of silent empathy over the killing and wounding of her supporters during the campaign period.
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In February, 1986, Corazon Aquino faced Marcos in a snap poll. She was forced to run against Marcos on the crest of national indignation brought by the assassination of her husband on August 21, 1983. However, the formidable machinery of Marcos denied her the win by massive vote-padding. Eventually, his rump parliament, with utmost effrontery literally smashed Aquino’s bid by declaring Marcos the winner.

Prior to that brutal killing, a series of protests was held against Marcos as he was then commonly believed to have masterminded the killing being the political foe of Ninoy. The protests, an expression of empathy of the Filipino people to the Aquino family for the murder, became a daily occurrence in the thoroughfares of Metro Manila since 1983.

After Aquino was cheated of the victory, the protests worsened and literally engulfed the whole country until it culminated to EDSA I. This first people’s revolution forced Marcos to flee to Australia with family and sycophants in tow on February 25, 1986. This catapulted Cory Aquino to the presidency.
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On its heels, in another part of the globe, another widow by the name of Violeta Chamorro, toppled the socialist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua sometime in 1990. She was widowed when her husband was among those caught in the maelstrom of a violent social upheaval after the Sandinista rebels came to power after toppling erstwhile Nicaraguan leader Antonio Somoza in 1979.

Styling herself as the personification of nemesis and democracy in the mold of Cory, she aptly used the cognomen of Violy. She ran and won against Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega in the elections in 1990 anchored on the sympathy and empathy of the majority of the Nicaraguans. Having championed then the ideals of democracy during the campaign she is credited for having restored democracy in Nicaragua after consolidating power.

Be that as it may, achieving power on the crest popular sympathy is entirely different when parlaying such power for the good of the greatest number. Election to a position is no picnic even as it is not meant for one to live in clover. Somehow, a comparatively easy victory demands huge responsibility. How to transform such popular trust and confidence into noteworthy public service requires a lot of hard work, perseverance, probity, mettle and reasonable competence. It does not come cheap much more as it involves public interest. In prosaic terms, those who gained from popular sympathy must be up to the task of their elective position, nothing more, nothing less.