Take the money and run

It’s been tried several times before and, perhaps, the frequency of its successes is one more than once too often. Had not we been bobotante, it would not have succeeded the first time. But that it’s a tried-and-tested business model a second, third and fourth time, and now, under the administration of Benigno Aquino III, has attained the stature of being the rule, rather then the exception, that, in itself, is undeniable testimony to our continuing stupidity as voters.

Here is the inanity that confronts us
A good number gunning for the vice presidency without a presidential candidate and, hence, without a definitive presidential platform to support should they win, are not running to win. The vice presidency is not the objective. The elections are simply a vehicle—a run-away money train, in fact. They are running, not just for the fun of it, but more for the fund of it—or since we are talking here of millions, for the funds of it, for the oodles of donations they can squeeze from the captive markets they represent. A wag even suggested a takeoff from our tourism slogan (no offense meant; our apologies to the Department of Tourism): There’s more fund in the Philippines, with so many bobotante!

A few million pesos from gullible donors and benefactors, net of token expenses spent to tour a few cities here and a few provinces there, there will always be crumbs left over. It’s a crusted and old working business model learned from traditional thieves and bank robbers. Take the money and run.

The issue of shared platforms and programs of government reveals the greed and duplicity behind a good number of these opportunists. A vice presidential wannabe running without a specific president virtually leaves a blank space unfilled and will be expected to commit to a platform unseen and unsubscribed to.
Running as an independent, given that the abbreviated field of presidential frontrunners each has a vice presidential bet on their ticket, a VP wannabe, flying solo, should he win, will likely be relegated to the vice presidential doghouse, compromised to commit to the winning president’s agenda to avoid bureaucratic dysfunctionalities.

Is this the kind of person we want a heartbeat away from the presidency? Someone so unplugged and with gaps in his roster of principles that the position sought and the manner of seeking it are effectively more important than the platform?

The reason for having a tandem on one ticket is that the second-highest position requires the same kind of qualifications, agenda and platform as the first, in the instance that the president, for reasons enumerated by the statutes, is unable to carry out his duties. These range from simply being out of town to being kicked out of office for both natural and unnatural reasons, such as death or impeachment. Ideally, the electorate picks on the basis of platforms, not personalities.

Contrary to the spin foisted on a public that should really know better than to fall for lies so noxious they envelop reason in a cloudy fume, the vice presidency is not an apprenticeship in the same way that the presidency is not an on-the-job training.

Admittedly, nothing can prepare one enough for the presidency, but the smear job being inflicted on Grace Poe is pure bovine sciatica, as the same experience should have been required of Aquino in 2010 and today on his anointed, given the lengthening list of non-achievements.

The vice presidency cannot be a six-year workshop paid for with taxes, both those from the budget, and those stolen via patronage lump sums cooked up by insidious conspirators. So, why pick an apprentice when real options abound? Note the 130 potential presidents. Not all belong to a barrel of mixed nuts and dried fruits.

A number running as vice presidential candidates can, indeed, qualify for the presidency, given that we’ve just recently, in the last presidency, lowered the bar.

Unfortunately, the vice presidential business model is as compelling as it is prolific. These self-proclaimed independents running as lone wolves are exactly that—unpedigreed mongrels scavenging for funds and fleecing those from their gullible fanatical supporters.