IN THE AFTERMATH of the “People Power” that deposed President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, the word “balimbing” became popular. The “balimbing,” or star fruit, became the mark of a turncoat. The star fruit’s cross-section is shaped like a five-sided star; thus, a person who changes political loyalty is called a “balimbing.”
After Marcos was ousted from the presidency, thousands of his supporters abandoned him and pledged their loyalty to newly proclaimed President Cory Aquino. The Aquino camp welcomed the turncoats. After all, the persons responsible for the removal of Marcos — Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos — were former allies of Marcos. Their followers simply followed them to the Aquino camp.
Lessons from history
During the 1896 revolution, there were already balimbings in the ranks of the Magdalo faction of Aguinaldo and Magdiwang faction of Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio. Members of Magdalo would switch to Magdiwang and vice versa. After the execution of Andres Bonifacio by the Aguinaldo forces, most of the leaders of Magdiwang joined the Magdalo, mainly for self-preservation.
During the commonwealth government under the United States, there were two political parties, the Federalista Party favoring statehood and the Nacionalista Party favoring independence. The late president Manuel L. Quezon, who favored independence, once said: “I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans.” Quezon prevailed.
After independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, the Liberal Party was born. The biggest “balimbing” at that time was former Nacionalista stalwart Manuel Roxas who changed his party affiliation to the Liberal Party and was elected President in 1946.
Roxas died in office in 1948 and was succeeded by Vice President Elpidio Quirino, also a Nacionalista-turned-Liberal. Quirino won a four-year term the following year. He appointed Ramon Magsaysay as Secretary of Defense. Magsaysay was effective and became popular fighting the Hukbalahap (Huk) guerillas. However, he resigned due to a dispute with Quirino. Magsaysay left the Liberty Party in 1953 and became the Nacionalista Party’s presidential candidate. Magsaysay, an Ilocano from Zambales, defeated his former boss, Quirino, by a landslide and won in all provinces except Ilocos Sur, Quirino’s province, and Ilocos Norte, the bailiwick of Congressman Ferdinand Marcos, a rising star in the Liberal Party at that time.
Magsaysay died in a plane crash in 1957 and Vice President Carlos P. Garcia, a Nacionalista from Bohol, took over the presidency. Garcia won election later that year with Diosdado Macapagal, a Liberal, winning the vice presidency. Macapagal won the presidency in 1961. In 1965, when Macapagal ran for re-election, Ferdinand Marcos, his rival within the Liberal Party, bolted the party and joined the Nacionalista Party. Hundreds of Marcos followers also left the Liberal Party and joined the Nacionalista Party. Marcos captured the nomination and went on to defeat Macapagal in the election. Marcos won reelection over the Liberal Party’s Sergio Osmena, Jr. in 1969.
EDSA Revolution
When Cory Aquino took over the presidency after EDSA I in 1986, hundreds of former Marcos loyalists crossed over to the Aquino camp. In 1987, the Philippine constitution was changed extending the presidential term to six years with no reelection. Her successor, Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, won a presidential term for himself. Again, hundreds of opposition party leaders switched to Ramos’ party. After Ramos, Joseph Estrada was elected and the same thing happened, balimbings defected to Estrada’s party. When Estrada was deposed in 2001 (EDSA II) due to the jueteng scandals, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo — with the help of Estrada’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Gen. Angelo Reyes, who switched his loyalty to Arroyo — took over the presidency. Estrada was jailed on charges of plunder. Overnight, loyalties changed.
Election cheating is fairly common. There is a joke that says: “In the Philippines, there are no losers, only the winner and those who were cheated.” He who cheats better, wins; and party switching is part of the political process.
With a government full of balimbings, it makes you wonder if the government really changes when a new President is elected. It’s all the same banana, or more aptly, the same “balimbing” running the show regardless of who is elected President.
With political power in the hands of a few people, the Philippines is governed by oligarchy. Virtually all of the provinces have political dynasties that control the provincial and local governments. It is expected that during a presidential election, their political allegiance will be determined by their own agenda. They would switch parties if that was what it took to get political concessions. As kingmakers, they play a key role in influencing the outcome of the election in their political turf in favor of the presidential candidate they support. A presidential candidate, who gets the most balimbings, wins.
The presidential election in 2022 is no different; perhaps it’s even worse. Today, political parties openly entice members from other parties to switch colors. They also adopted their favorite colors. You’d see political candidates in red, pink, blue, and other colors to distinguish them from the others. And if you happen to be a popular actor, comedian or entertainer, party leaders would dangle all kinds of goodies to recruit you.
Frailocracy
With the 2022 presidential election fast approaching, political realignments – balimbingan – are going to change the political landscape of the country. Political dynasties are sprouting like mushrooms.
To complicate the matter, political dynasties are taking over the government at the national, provincial, and local levels. Political dynasties can trace their origins to the Spanish colonization. Some political dynasties today can trace their ancestry from 300 years ago. When townships were established, the powers-that-be – meaning the friars — appointed gobernadorcillos who were totally subservient to the friars. Indeed, the friars were more powerful than the civil government. Frailocracy, which means “rule of the friars,” was so powerful and influential that they practically ruled the Philippines. Their word is the de facto law of the land.
However, a civilian government had to be installed, simply because the friars were not administrators, they ruled and let the gobernadorcillos govern the townships for them. They were merely the friars’ pencil pushers. But don’t get me wrong, they’re powerful in the sense that they have access to the friars and the friars trusted them because they became landowners, courtesy of the friars. That earned the friars the loyalty of the gobernadorcillos. They were given the status of principalia, a member of the local nobility, the elite.
Over the years, the principalia gained power and influence. And when the Spaniards left the Philippines, the friars’ power diminished while the principalia stayed and continued to grow since the all-powerful friars were no longer around to tell them what to do. Thus ended the frailocracy.
But the principalia remained. They became powerful, influential, and wealthy politicians who controlled vast tracts of agricultural land deeded from the friars.
Then the Americans arrived. They introduced elections. However, suffrage rights were given only to members of the principalia. Also, government positions were limited to Americans and members of the principalia, which resulted in the widening gap between rich and poor Filipinos. It’s no wonder then that many political clans could trace their ancestry to the principalia. It’s no accident then that about 75% of elected members of the House of Representatives came from political dynasties.
And from these political dynasties emerged the balimbings.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)