The period for filing Certificates of Candidacy by hopefuls in the 2010 elections has barely started and Filipinos are cringing in disappointment as we witness leaders of the ruling Lakas-Kampi party jump ship and – in rotten traditional political fashion – shift allegiances to and are warmly welcomed by the Liberal and Nacionalista parties without any qualms. Indeed, the party has started for “trapos” (shorthand for traditional politicians, but also means rags in Tagalog.)

The Liberal Party leadership is overall proud and unapologetic about their “prize catch” of hordes of pro-Arroyo officials. That the party touted as “the force of good” is now being overrun by the minions from the “force of evil” is a reality which LP spin doctors have not been honest enough to admit.

Ditto for the Nacionalista Party whose membership is swelling from another huge column of pro-Arroyo officials too happy to be sworn in as new members. The NP’s latest catch is Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., scion of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos who defends the record of his father who the world knows brutalized Filipinos for 14 years and ransacked the treasury.

Those demanding platforms from these parties and their presidential candidates should put an end to their naivete because there appears to be no meaningful difference among them and they are only united in one objective, which is to capture or recapture political power.

Even the people’s demand that the next president prosecute and punish Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (pictured) for her crimes may be frustrated and thwarted, no thanks to the dominance of traditional political forces, thinking and mindset. Although the LP conveniently wraps itself in the afterglow of Corazon Aquino’s demise, we cannot honestly say that – up to now – it has presented a concrete, practical plan to restore morality in governance. What we see in LP is barefaced political opportunism in raiding the Lakas-Kampi ranks and keeping silent on its impact on its promises to “correct the wrongs” of the much-lamented Arroyo regime.

For instance, it appears to have never occurred to Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas II that recruiting Arroyo’s former socio-economic planning secretary Ralph Recto would incite former Sen. Serge Osmena to raise a howl. How short-sighted can they be? Osmena was the campaign manager of the United Opposition senatorial slate in 2007 which fought and routed Recto and other pro-Arroyo candidates. On what basis they consider Recto a valuable addition to their “forces of good”, the Aquino-Roxas tandem has not been able to explain.

NP leader Manuel Villar meanwhile harbors the illusion that he can unite the Marcoses and the progressive coalition Makabayan. How the recalcitrant and revisionist Marcoses could sit down with Satur Ocampo, who continues to fight for long-overdue justice and compensation for nearly 10,000 victims of the Marcos dictatorship’s brutality, is a mystery. For the younger Marcos, all charges against his dictator-father are unproven and may just be a figment of Ocampo’s wild imagination. Makabayan today appears to be genuinely disappointed by Villar and is revolted by the stench of the NP coalition with the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party, the ruling party during martial law.

Lakas-Kampi meanwhile is undergoing a make-over to provide a positive-looking vehicle for standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro. The party now appears to be preparing for an onslaught of propaganda to make the public forget Arroyo’s entire political, economic and social record. Again, the politics of amnesia.  Never mind if Arroyo stole, cheated, lied and allowed killing of critics – the important thing is to elect Gibo.

Like what I have repeatedly said, it is still too early to foresee the outcome of the elections. It gives us all time to check what the parties are doing and raise the awareness and fighting will of the people to organize and mobilize themselves. The parties may be busy recapturing power – no matter how dirty the deals – but that doesn’t mean we should just sit down and allow them to ignore our demands for good governance and a whole slew of pro-people reforms. That doesn’t mean we should not be vigilant about what President Arroyo can do with all the awesome powers of the presidency and her tainted record in electoral fraud.