Is the dizzying number of political parties in this country any help at all as far as the welfare of the people is concerned or it is merely to provide a limitless playground for romping politicians?
This question becomes very relevant as the May, 2007 elections approach and the confused public is witnessing a continuing spectacle of party switches and political groupings long known to be moribund and dormant once more resurfacing ostensibly to just serve as vehicle for candidates ignored and snubbed by more active political parties.
Surprisingly, this country that has been enamored to the American system and way of life has opted not to adopt its two-party system which has afforded the most powerful and most influential country in the world a healthy, vibrant and orderly exercise of democracy. Whoever conceived of allowing as many political parties as may be imagined could have thought that it was for the sake of maximum liberty, not realizing that there are always only two sides of every issue and that one is either for the administration or against it.
Whatever the rationale, it now clearly boils down to one thing--- that it was whimsical and merely meant to enable some political leaders to establish their own fiefdoms and build up formidable leverage.
One very obvious pernicious effect is that the multi-party system has made it very easy for anyone to change parties, discarding political vestments at the slightest provocation, with little or very low regard to discipline or loyalty. It reflects the very low level of morality in various echelons of the government.
To exacerbate the already muddled up situation, some political parties have split up completely confusing the people on how and where they stand on specific issues confronting the nation. The Liberal Party is torn in half between Senator Franklin Drilon and Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and whichever would be accredited at the time of the election is another headache for the already beleaguered COMELEC. Even the NPC is tossed in an ocean of uncertainty: one group wants to align with the administration while another group feels it is more comfortable with the opposition.
That explains in part why once vehement and vociferous pillars of the opposition are now ensconsced in the administration unity ticket, while some senators known to have won with the administration party in the previous election are now in the warm embrace of the opposition, and like the song, no one asks what the past has been.
Could we say that multi-party system is also a pretext for opportunism?
