by Alito L. Malinao
MANILA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Seven months before the actual voting on May 9 next year, the election in the Philippines that would choose the successor to President Benigno Aquino III has officially started.
On Monday, Vice President Jejomar Binay and his running mate, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, led 21 other candidates for president to file their certificates of candidacy at the main office of the independent Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Among the "early birds," Binay is the only one who seems to make it to the final list of serious contenders for the position of President Aquino whose six-year term ends in June next near.
Under the Philippine constitution, Aquino is barred from seeking another term.
Comelec Chairman Andes Bautista said that eventually the so- called "nuisance candidates," those who have no means to conduct a nationwide campaign, would be removed from the official list of candidates.
Aquino has endorsed former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to be his successor.
Roxas, along with Sen. Grace Poe, another top contender, is expected to file his certificate of candidacy before Friday, which is the end of the five-day registration period.
Ultimately, there will be a three-cornered fight for presidency in the Philippines in the upcoming polls with the three leading candidates -- Binay, Roxas, and Poe -- slugging it out after the rumored fourth presidential candidate, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, finally announced on Monday not to join the presidential derby.
The three candidates to succeed Aquino have a stark contrast in their personal lives and experiences.
Roxas, is a U.S.-educated economist, former senator, former congressman, and former cabinet minister. He is the son of a senator and grandson of the first president of the Philippine republic. His campaign strategy revolves around the "straight path " mantra of President Aquino, which calls for the eradication of graft in government.
Binay is a "rags-to-riches" story having been orphaned early in life but was able to become a lawyer and a long-time mayor of Makati City, the country's premier business district. He is facing a string of corruption cases in the Ombudsman. But since there is still no conviction, he is free to run for office.
Poe, who is leading in the poll surveys, is a foundling who was abandoned in a church but was later adopted by Fernando Poe, Jr., a famous actor who ran but lost in the 2004 presidential elections against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Also educated and a long-time resident in the U.S., Poe is charged in a tribunal of not being a natural-born Filipino citizen, a constitutional requirement for those running for any public office in the Philippines. Her citizenship case is still pending.
Roxas has picked up the relatively unknown Reni Robredo, a member of the legislature from the Bicol Region, south of Manila, as his vice presidential candidate while Poe has Sen. Chiz Escudero as her candidate for vice president.
Honasan, also from Bicol Region, Binay's running mate, is a former military officer who led several failed coup attempts against the government in the late 1980s.
Contenders for the vice presidential post include Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., son of the late Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos. There were earlier reports that he would run for president but since he had a poor showing in the surveys, he decided to settle for the second highest position in the Philippines.
In his early campaign sorties in the province, Aquino asked Filipinos to vote for Roxas so that the country's economic growth and the fight against corruption would continue.
But the political opposition claimed that the country's growth is ephemeral and non-inclusive because the benefits did not filter down to the underprivileged sector.
Philippine elections, patterned after that of the U.S., are the most unwieldy in Asia, with scores killed or maimed during the final days of the campaign when politicians or their die-hard supporters often resort to violence.
In next year's elections, some 18,000 posts are at stake, including senators, congressmen and local officials.
Related:
Philippine president appoints congressman as new member of Cabinet
MANILA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III named Tuesday a lawmaker to be the incoming secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Samar Representative Mel Senen Sarmiento will replace DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who earlier tendered his resignation after he was officially chosen as the standard bearer of the Liberal Party for the May 2016 presidential elections. Full story >>>
Philippine gov't disagrees with UN arbitration group regarding Arroyo's detention
MANILA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Aquino administration on Thursday disagreed with a United Nation's arbitration group, insisting that only the Philippine courts can decide where former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be detained.
Communications secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Malacanang acknowledged the opinion of the five-member United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that declared Arroyo's continued detention as arbitrary and illegal under international law and the country would respond accordingly. Full story >>>
New Philippine Navy chief assumes post
MANILA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III has named Caesar Taccad as the new chief of the Philippine Navy who assumed his post on Monday.
During the Navy's change of command, Aquino directed Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad to make sure that he will pursue the Navy Strategic Sail Plan 2020. Full story >>>
