For the past three years, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Team Unity is banking on the modest performance of the economy as the cornerstone of its campaign to cover up for the illegitimacy of its regime to govern the country. Most of the members of TU were, prior to the elections, erstwhile movers for the administration’s damage control schemes to conceal what is ironically an exposed scenario of corruption and red tape in office. The question now is whether this “boosting economy reportage” will strategize Team Unity’s victory in the national polls – or lead it to defeatsville. Surveys show that this seems to be a losing electoral strategy to counter the issues that have continued to erode more deeply its legitimacy, what with the just concluded UN report of the extra-judicial killings and appalling record of human rights violations and the seeming impotence to curtail the communist insurgency.

With the May election less than a month away, two issues have crystallized: the economy and the extra-judicial killings of leftwing activists operating in the legal parliamentary stream. There is little evidence that voters are excited over an economy that has shown only sluggish growth of no more than 5 percent over the past four years and declining growth in employment; and over data that more and more poor people have not eaten three meals a day. Upon the other hand, the economy can be a winning formula if it is indeed booming. But the economy is at best stagnating. Philippine growth is lagging behind the 7.3 percent GDP growth rate in 2007. (Source: Emerging East Asia Report), notably the 8.0 percent of Vietnam. In highlighting the economy as the centerpiece of its campaign, the administration mistakenly took the wrong step. To make up for very little results to show the people that their lives have improved during the past six years of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presidency, the administration has launched a massive infrastructure spending program to develop the five super economic growth zones. While these projects have long-term economic development objectives, they are designed to produce short-term electoral results, including creating casual employment reminiscent of the emergency employment scheme of President Diosdado Macapagal, the President’s father. True, the sitting administration have advantages, viz: the far-flung reach of the machinery to grass-roots level, its access to patronage resources of the pork barrel, business contribution to the Lakas campaign chest, plus the deployment of the state’s coercive instruments (that is, the military and police) to harass party-list candidates for the House. These givens portray an ideal picture of a formidable machinery but these schemes overlook the strong undercurrent of anti-GMA resentment that has clearly been highlighted in previous surveys on the Senate elections and the persistently low satisfaction ratings for the administration recently. Come to think of it, the administration’s focus on the economic issues is designed to win the nod of the business community than that of the masses and of the poor. After all, it is deplorable that the TU’s strategy anchors itself on the assumption that the rural masses can be bribed by massive pork barrel spending.

The surveys have mirrored the vulnerabilities of the Team Unity’s strategies. It stands on ground that is continually being eroded by dissatisfaction and the silent sounds of unrest that need to be heeded. Will the May 14 Mid-term elections show Team Unity the door?

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