WOULD the 2016 elections be the year of the independent candidates? What are the realities in Philippine politics? These are money, goons and machinery. Without money, no candidate stands a Chinaman’s chance, so they say. With goons (guns included), they can intimidate people to support and not to support. Candidates can’t work alone, thus they need machinery or groups of people taking care of every aspect of the campaign, election day and post-election necessities. Oh, yes, they need a political party. Are there exceptions? Is there? An exception is only possible when the candidate is extremely popular or if there is a dire need for change. At the national scene, we are seeing two possible independent candidates to run as President. They are Davao Mayor Rody Duterte and Sen. Grace Poe. Their popularity is not party given. Poe got it from her father, the late Fernando Poe Jr. while Duterte got it for being himself, the no-nonsense implementor of justice, the Duterte way. As it is, Poe is not in a hurry to be taken by any party, not even by the Liberal Party. She must have sensed that while to be identified with Binay is a kiss of death, Liberal Party is no different when many of its members are implicated in the Napoles scam. Without a political party, Poe exudes new hope, deviating from the traditional political parties whose membership is characterized by political butterflies, bereft of sense of loyalty. Duterte displays resolve and strong character to right a wrong the extralegal way which the community silently favors but denounced by the human rights advocates. The millions or billions of pesos that already went to the wrong pockets have enraged the people, including those who used to be apathetic to the realities surrounding our government. Now that they have awakened and want those involved to answer for their sins, there is no doubt that they too would like to see new faces. For the two to run in tandem, money would just flow in. Spontaneous display of support will mushroom from all four corners. Many would be willing volunteers to assist and safeguard the interest of their chosen candidates. Mar Roxas, who just flew in, recently was said to be turning over police cars. If those are the ones we saw on Facebook said to be priced at P1.9 million each, they’re more likely overpriced, and that doesn’t give a positive impression. RP has DU30, CDO has DU9BTC. Yes, one can’t have anything against the man. They say he is very decent. But he is also simply heavy to carry, aggravated allegedly by his TV personality wife. Unless Roxas is truly the anointed one by the United States of America, as the story goes, he could be the next President the people never wanted or elected. Hence, I see Poe and Duterte in the same boat to Malacañang next year. At the local scene, it is also ripe for an independent to come out of his/her comfort zone unless we want to get stuck in a rut among lesser evils. The airwaves are already abuzz with charges and counter-charges against the incumbent and the conquered. A rematch may be interesting but the result would be something either we must learn to live with or curse ourselves for failing identify an alternative. Remember, no candidate creates miracle for one’s victory. Only the electorate can make miracles happen.