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All of us wanted clean politics and clean elections. But where do we start?

Last time around, I talked about barangay elections being invaded by traditional politics, and thought about making it non-partisan. MLQ3 disagrees with the notion. But then again, where do we start?

Just look at the most recent barangay elections. Candidates being killed or wounded, flying voters, vote buying, wayward poll watchers, tarpaulins and posters everywhere, motorcades, bands - and no, it is not the national elections. Imagine, all that money being spent, all those lives wasted. It has been harder to enter the political race via barangay. It just became more expensive, and for what? Three years of allowances, three years of being village chief? No, I don’t think so. And since money has entered the ball game, where can a candidate get the funds?

Enter the lord. Political lords, starting with the mayor, congressman, councilor, need a political base. And what better way to establish one than by “sponsoring” candidates? After these candidates get elected, payback time - the political lord now has a political machinery deeply indebted to him. And since the incumbent has a machine, a newbie is at an obvious disadvantage.

Enter the lord. Gambling lords, too, can sponsor candidates (as they also bankroll mayors and the like, barangay sponsorship is peanuts) in exchange of relative peace for their “business.”

Enter the lord. Warlords, who have no taste for politics, will rather play kingmaker than be king themselves.

So with the barangay heavily politicized (and monetized), getting into elected public service becomes a wee bit harder. Compound that as you progress along the political food chain, and you get what I mean. One billion pesos is not enough to get yourself elected as President. Just ask Gloria Arroyo. Oooppss.

Yes, level the playing field. And it should start at the barangay level.

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