{"id":3573,"date":"2009-11-13T16:20:05","date_gmt":"2009-11-13T08:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quezon.ph\/2009\/11\/13\/platform-time-begins-on-november-30\/"},"modified":"2009-11-13T16:20:05","modified_gmt":"2009-11-13T08:20:05","slug":"platform-time-begins-on-november-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quezon.ph\/2009\/11\/13\/platform-time-begins-on-november-30\/","title":{"rendered":"Platform time begins on November 30"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n In Hi’s and hello’s in three stages<\/a>, I wanted to point out that there are different stages in a presidential campaign, and that we’re transitioning from one stage to another, namely from the first to second stages of the campaign.<\/p>\n First stage: Introducing Yourself and Making Friends: potential candidates put themselves forward for consideration by the public in its capacity as the body politic that constitutes the membership of political parties (Anytime from May 10, 2007 to Oct. 20, 2009)<\/b><\/p>\n Much as Filipinos followed the American presidential contest, and are in some ways more familiar with the American system than our own, the equivalent period in the United States was the far longer period during which various potential candidates first set up their exploratory committees, and then began participating in the debates and fora leading up to the more formal elimination rounds known as the party primaries.<\/p>\n There have been proposals to establish some sort of primary system here at home, the problem is such proposals always come too late: and they must necessarily come too late because the law -written by by politicians with politicians’ requirements during elections in mind- rigidly prohibits an extended and public selection process.<\/p>\n My personal view is that the 90 day period provided by law for campaigns is far too short, and is a case of being penny wise and pound foolish, the short period meant to encourage economy in campaigns. To my mind it accomplishes the opposite, as campaigns have to frenetic, and, considering the large size of the electorate, it’s superficial because only a few, key messages can be drummed into the public consciousness during the campaign.<\/p>\n Still, the law is the law, and much as it may not make total sense to the public, it makes sense to the candidates, fortified as their understanding is, by legal precedents. Basically, the law simply states that if a candidate does not formally file candidacy papers, he or she is not yet a candidate, and therefore, not bound by the law when it comes to punishable violations of the Omnibus Election Code.<\/p>\n Since this is the introductory period, prospective candidates are trying to accomplish several things, going into the period when they’re expected to formalize their affiliations and form teams to contest the elections. There’s no leader where there aren’t any followers, and what candidates are trying to do is to prove they’re serious contenders for the presidency and vice-presidency. They do this by manifesting interest in the position, by touring the country, by getting commitments from individuals and groups, and accumulating a campaign kitty or at least, the resources to attract future donations.<\/p>\n They also have to start speaking out on issues and proposing themes in the hope they’re attractive to the electorate. As it stands, with the period for putting together, revising, and formally adopting, party platforms still ongoing, it’s well to remember that there have been opportunities aplenty for the candidates to be asked their views on the issues, and for these opinions to be scrutinized.<\/p>\n In fact, considering that most of the leading contenders are not only in the Senate, but ran for the Senate in 2007, there’s an underutilized resource available to the public for comparing where the candidates of today stood, in terms of the issues in 2007, which can help gauge if they’ve remained consistent, or have evolved or devolved since then: the Podcast interviews conducted by Inquirer.net of senatorial candidates in 2007, which were provided online. These interviews are particularly useful because they weren’t limited by time constraints, candidates could talk as long or as briefly as they pleased.Francis Escudero Podcast Transcript<\/a>