Shared Senate bets show absence of real political parties in PHL, analysts say

Six senatorial aspirants belong to more than one slate in the 2016 elections and political experts believe this only shows the absence of a true political party system in the Philippines.

Professor Roland Simbulan of the University of the Philippines told GMA News Online that political parties share candidates "because there are no real parties nor real party platforms to speak of."

"The candidates only want to win," Simbulan said.

Asked if parties sharing candidates is good for the country, Simbulan said, "Again, it shows that the party system is non-existent."

"[Parties are] merely money machines that come alive only during elections," Simbulan said.

Professor Eric Batalla, the chairman of the De La Salle University Department of Political Science, said that the Philippines' political marketplace is often about personalities and not political parties.

"A political party sharing a senatorial bet suggests a lack of control and disciplining authority over the candidate," Batalla said.

The Article IX of the Omnibus Election Code states that political party may nominate and/or support candidates not belonging to it, which opened doors for guest candidates. 

In next year's election campaign, the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid of Mar Roxas will share Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto with Team Galing at Puso of Senator Grace Poe.

Former Senator Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, is a candidate of both Daang Matuwid and the United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Until recently, Lacson was also considered to be a part of Poe's senatorial lineup.

Senator Vicente Sotto III, former Senator Richard Gordon, former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and migrant workers' advocate Susan "Toots" Ople are in both Team Galing at Puso and UNA.  

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is yet to reveal her senatorial lineup.



2010 elections

In the 2010 elections, five senatorial bets were candidates of at least two parties. Three of them won.

The Liberal Party, Nacionalista Party, and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino fielded full senatorial slates in the 2010 elections. However, some of the parties shared some candidates.

Independent candidates Sergio Osmeña III and Danilo Lim were guest candidates of both the PMP and LP slates. Osmeña won as he ranked 10th in the senatorial race; Lim lost.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who ran under her People's Reform Party, sought re-election as a guest candidate of both the PMP and the NP. She placed third in the senatorial race.
 
Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, a member of the Lakas-CMD, topped the 2010 senatorial elections as a guest candidate of both the NP and the PMP.

Regalado Maambong of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan was also a guest candidate of PMP.
 
Most of the other parties—including the administration's Lakas-CMD—did not have a complete senatorial slate.

One party, Bagumbayan, only had a presidential and vice-presidential tandem in Richard Gordon and Bayani Fernando.

Independent presidential candidates Jamby Madrigal and Nick Perlas ran without vice presidential and senatorial bets.
 
Four senatorial candidates did not join any ticket: Emilio Mario Osmeña, Jovito Palparan Jr., Vicente Sotto III, and Henry Caunan. Only Sotto made it.

2013 elections
 
Only the administration ticket, Team PNOY, carried a full senatorial slate in the 2013 elections.
 
The United Nationalist Alliance—then the coalition of the PDP-Laban and PMP—initially fielded a 12-person ticket, including three guest candidates that were also in the LP-led Team PNoy.

They were the MTRCB chairperson Grace Poe and re-electionist Senators Chiz Escudero and Loren Legarda.

UNA eventually dropped the three from their slate after they repeatedly failed to attend UNA's campaign sorties.
 
Of the eight senatorial bets in the Makabayan Coalition's slate, only Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño was nominated by Makabayan at the outset.

The seven others were guest candidates from Team PNoy's slate, namely: Escudero, Legarda, Poe, Senators Koko Pimentel and Alan Peter Cayetano, former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar, and former Senator Jamby Madrigal.
 
Poe, Escudero, Legarda, Pimentel, Cayetano, and Villar won. Casiño and Madrigal lost.
 
Brother Eddie Villanueva was the lone senatorial bet of Bangon Pilipinas, while Samson Alcantara was the only senatorial candidate of the Social Justice Society.

They, along with three other independent candidates (Edward Hagedorn, Ramon Montaño, and Ricardo Penson), did not win. —with GMA News Research/NB/JST, GMA News