MANILA: GertrudesBatocabe never wanted to enter the Philippines' cutthroat politics, but afterher husband was shot dead, allegedly by a rival in next week's midtermelection, she felt bound to take his place. "It's not really automaticthat the wife takes over, but in this case I cannot see my opponents sittingdown (quitting)" she told AFP, holding back tears. "I have a lot ofthings to do for Rodel, for the people of Daraga," she said, referring toher husband and the central city where she is running for mayor.
In taking overhis candidacy, Batocabe was among at least half a dozen women standing in fortheir slain husbands this year - a long tradition in the Philippines'notoriously deadly politics. Dozens of people, including candidates and theirsupporters, routinely get killed in the fierce competition for elected poststhat are a source of wealth in a nation with deep poverty. Over 18,000 seats,ranging from local councils to the upper house Senate, are up for grabs whenthe nation's more than 61 million voters are called to cast ballots on Monday.
One widow styledher campaign as a quest for justice for her husband, who was murdered last yearafter announcing plans to run for mayor in Trece Martires, a city south ofManila. "My name is Gemma Lubigan. I will take up the fight of Vice-MayorAlex Lubigan," she told a cheering crowd at a recent campaign rally. Apolitical rival, the sitting mayor of Trece Martires, was initially fingered asa suspect, but prosecutors have declined to file charges.
Politicalwidowhood reached its apogee in the Philippines in 1986, when Corazon Aquinotook power after a bloodless popular revolt that toppled the late dictatorFerdinand Marcos. The upheaval was triggered by the 1983 assassination of heropposition leader husband Benigno Aquino at the hands of security forces loyalto Marcos, forcing her into politics. In the Philippines, widow candidatescarry a powerful aura of suffering and perseverance that resonates with votersin the overwhelmingly Catholic nation, experts say.
"It worksespecially in the Philippine context because widowhood has symbolic elementsthat are very much valued in politics," said University of the Philippinespolitical science professor Jean Franco told AFP. The Philippines also lacks astrong party system so family dynasties play a similar role, with wives calledon to assume the clan's figurehead position after a slaying.
'I'm careful'
Some of Asia'smost powerful political families have been marked by the same phenomenon.India's Sonia Gandhi was pushed into politics after her husband, former primeminister Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated. Benazir Bhutto led Pakistan's returnto democracy about a decade after her father was ousted as prime minister in acoup and subsequently executed. Political analyst Franco said the rise of thePhilippine widows also marks a way into the nation's male-dominated politicalarea. "Many of our female politicians, especially at the local level, aremembers of political dynasties," she added.
Before Rodel'smurder, the plan was for the Batocabes to groom their first-born son, a newlyminted lawyer, to follow his father's footsteps into politics. But that changedafter Rodel, who was an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, was gunned down daysbefore Christmas while handing out gifts to elderly and disabled Daragaresidents. The incumbent mayor of Daraga is charged with orchestrating thekilling, leaving Batocabe acutely aware of the risks she faces in running."I'm careful, is the word, but I've been given so much protection by thepresident," she said, referring to an armed security detail. - AFP