Ni
Vir B. Lumicao
Like it or not, but biology is in play in
the current campaign for the May presidential election. That’s the impression
we get from the way candidates for leading government positions – or their
campaigners, PR men and spin doctors -- run their campaign.
In this nastiest facet
of the democratic process called election, everything from bad genes to
pigmentation to zygotic anomalies is dug up to feed debates and mudslinging
that characterize the once-in-six-years presidential race.
Filipinos are damn good
in this type of intramurals, such that even long before campaigning had
officially started, presidential hopefuls who charged early or figured highly
in various surveys were launched higher by avid fans or got shot down by
merciless memes on social media.
We’ve seen a daily dose
of complexion-driven boosters for some candidates and diatribes against certain
players. Naturally, the favorite targets are those perceived to be the best and
the worst in a war that has no middle ground: praises are heaped on those
deemed to be the most deserving; condemnation befalls the most distrusted.
Early bird Jejomar
Binay has been bashed for having “a soul as dark as his skin” because of his
alleged greed and gluttony, so from a biological point of view, he may possibly
have symptoms of hyperpigmentation and indigestion. Or he could be in the
process of molting when he lined up for Ash Wednesday’s sacramental, although
an unfriendly post on Facebook showed his face charcoaled all over.
Then, just as the
voting populace was beginning to tire of acid attacks, diminutive dark horse
Grace Poe came into view and was immediately targeted for her allegedly
questionable nationality and dubious lineage. Her detractors lost no time
resurrecting the gossip that she was a foundling whose genes, so they said,
could be traced to the deceased dictator.
This DNA-probing
episode soon gave way to brickbats being thrown at testosterone-loaded Rody
Duterte from the South for his non-stop cussing and braggadocio ways. But his
brave announcement that he would rid the Motherland of crime and corruption
turned him into an instant star, with raves from despairing denizens drowning
the protests of the pious.
Little has been said in
a negative way about Miriam Defensor Santiago, who, despite or maybe because of
her reported Stage 4 cancer condition, seems to have silenced even her harshest
critics. Whether this deferent silence can convert to votes will only be known
on Election Day.
Her running mate, the
fallen despot’s son Ferdinand Jr., is finding the Facebook page a hostile
laboratory for an attempt at induced public amnesia, especially since Filipinos
marked last month the 30th anniversary of the “People Power” revolution on
EDSA.
Bongbong seems to be
getting help, though, from demographic data showing that the median age of the
102 million Filipinos today is 24.4 years old, hence, the young voters do not
have an idea of what it’s like to live under martial law.
Still, this brings no
comfort to the global campaigner of administration candidates Mar Roxas and
Leni Robredo who says the only way to continue the success of Benigno Aquino
III’s “Matuwid na Daan” doctrine is to vote for the Yellow tandem.
In a country where the
culture of corruption has taken roots, said Loida Nicolas Lewis in a forum in
Hong Kong last month, those who deserve to be elected are the ones with good
DNA.
“You have to have it in
you na hindi ka magnanakaw. You were brought up by parents with the right sense
of ethics,” she said.
With good-DNA bearers
Roxas and Robredo at the helm, the Philippines, through the “Matuwid na Daan”
doctrine, is expected to achieve First World status by 2022, said Lewis.
So, if you are still
confused about who to elect for the top two positions in government in the
coming elections, selection can be as easy as a taxi ride to the voting
precinct. In fact, Lewis has a handy advice.
“Ask the taxi driver
and he will tell you: ‘I don’t like a thief, I don’t want a murderer, I won’t
vote for an American and I won’t go for someone with Stage 4 cancer.’ Eh di
sino pa ang iboboto?” said Lewis.
Indeed, in the final
analysis, even in the evolution of politics Philippine style genetics and
Darwin’s principle of natural selection have a role to play.