UNA, LP-NPC-NP COALITION---IS THERE NO 3RD FORCE?

Our economy is in its boom phase. The people are inspired. Most people are hopeful that the future will be brighter than expected. The online community where 30 million Filipinos go to every, single day, is a-buzz with so much activities. Foreign country-based Filipinos are making closer engagements with their kababayans online and are willing to increase their assistance to build the nation.


And then this.


We heard what these trapos did. In his unquenchable desire to clinch the presidency in 2016, Vice President Jejomar Binay partnered up with former president Joseph Estrada and formed the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). At first glance, UNA seems to be a formidable coalition of "progressive" groups. Then, we heard that they accepted Migz Zubiri, the one who denied Koko Pimentel of his rightful place at the Senate, and Mitos Magsaysay and Gwen Garcia, two very close associates of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The inclusion of these three people soured the alliance. It also bared the very nature of this alliance, that of political expendiency. 


Some people hoped that UNA would be different. It is not. It is peopled with the same old faces that promoted a very blighted view of the Philippines. UNA represented the worst grouping of people whose claim to fame is being part of the wrecking crew that continually denies a better future for this country. 


Binay is now the new face of traditional politics, the kind that will enslave the Filipino people in years to come. Binay's quest for the top post has blurred his former image, that of a reformer. He is willing to even trade places with the devil, if it is the only way to ride the presidential limousine. 


Sources say, Binay is the strongest contender come 2016. I sincerely doubt it. Besides, who is to say that Binay will still be with us come 2016? It is still four years to go, and like what former speaker Joe de Venecia Jr always say, in Philippine politics, four years is a helluva time to wait. 


Estrada and Binay have presume that they will still be alive by then. God, in His infinite mercies, knows best.


I hoped that the other side of the political spectrum will be different, given that progressive groups have aligned themselves with the dominant party.


Just as equally presumptuous, Mar Roxas and the Liberals thought that 2013 is the preparation stage for 2016. That's why, this early, they forged a coalition with the Nacionalista Party and the Nationalist People's Coalition---the two traditional political parties that accused Pnoy of being a psychological wreck and a weak leader.


Obviously, the alliance is a sham. It is not based on principles. The reason why the LP wants these two parties is for them to dominate Congress come 2013. As you know, whoever dominates the lower house with his allies, will win the elections come 2016.


What strikes me as rather odd and really revolting was the decision to include former frat boys of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the coalition. This goes to show that when it comes to politics, every single one is a friend. 


With the Duranos siding with the administration, it goes to show that any case involving them in the 2004 electoral heist will definitely not be filed. What if Arroyo implicates the Duranos in what happened last 2004? What, then, will the dominant political party say?


I really feel that there is a widespread longing for a third force, a political party that really feels what the people really want and has a vision, a concrete and formidable one, which will animate the imagination of the people.


I sincerely feel that deep-down, the Filipino People is looking for the political party that will truly represent their interests and not just be a tool for mercenaries, bureaucrat capitalists, and big time capitalists to protect their economic interests.


We, the Filipino People, should form our own political party.