Nowhere is this feudalism more apparent than in the province of Camarines Sur where a few families have lorded it over the mainly agricultural and poor population ever since "democracy" was imposed on the Philippines by its American occupiers more than a century ago.

Within the province nowhere is feudalism more blatant than in the first district where the Alfelors, the Andayas, and the Villafuertes have considered entire communities as their fiefdoms. Feudalism is so ingrained in the thinking of this elite clique of vassals that they dare to offer the entire congressional district as homage to their overlord in Malacañang. They support a non-Bicolano, Mr. "Dato" Arroyo, son of Gloria, as candidate for congressman in a district comprising 10 of the poorest municipalities in the country.

Nevertheless, things are bound to change. Bicolanos, like most Filipinos, are essentially intelligent and are getting better educated. When the candidacy of "Dato" was first floated, it was assumed that no one would dare to oppose this formidable phalanx of feudalistic power backed by the full force of Malacañang. They did not figure on the courage of Sabos Mabulo, mayor of the small municipality of San Fernando, Camarines Sur.

Against all odds, Mayor Mabulo has challenged his compatriots to believe in themselves. To convince them, he points to his modest accomplishments as a mayor who would not wait for central government assistance before embarking on projects that were truly beneficial to this town. Using as his model the progressive governance of Naga City, Mabulo has introduced self-reliance as the main vehicle for progress in San Fernando.

What happens in the first district of Camarines Sur on May 14, 2007 may well be the barometer of the Philippines’ political map in the next few years.

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Meanwhile dark clouds are gathering over free elections throughout the country. In feudal Camarines Sur, the progressive, award winning Naga City mayor, Jesse Robredo, has just been disqualified by a Comelec that has shown no signs of honestly performing its constitutional duties. While in the middle of progressive Metro Manila, the mayor of the acknowledged financial center of the country, Makati City, Jejomar Binay has also been suspended by a graft court packed with minions of Malacañang.

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Last week at a gathering of the Philippine Forum for Family Planning and Development, the acknowledged elder of the business community, Washington Sycip, warned of a dangerously widening gap between rich and poor if the Philippines is unable to check its rapid population growth rate. He highlighted the fact that rich couples with only two children each will have access to high quality education for their progeny. On the other hand, the 6 or 7 children of each poor family can only depend on a continuously deteriorating public school system.

In the same forum, former NEDA director-general Felipe Medalla called attention to statistics that further indicate the failure of the Philippine educational system to meet the needs of an ever-growing population. In most dynamically developing East Asian countries, the educational gap between economic classes is being obliterated. For example, among younger Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese population age groups the level of education is increasingly more uniform than that among cohorts of older age groups. In the Philippines, the proportion of elementary school leavers is actually increasing and the gap between rich and poor is widening.

It is clear from these observations that a truly pro-poor government would have as a high priority a population management program that targets the reduction of fertility rates of women in the lowest economic groups. The Macapagal-Arroyo government has not only failed to provide this but, in collusion with conservative religious extremists, has actively undermined whatever population management capacities the country still has.

For this reason, reproductive health advocates can see no reason for even considering a vote for any of the senatorial candidates of Team Unity. Likewise, the poor masses who were disenfranchised by EDSA II and again by the tainted elections of 2004 have no reason to vote for any one on the ticket of the anti-poor administration.