LAST MINUTE switching of political color and affiliation in the first week of October made it more obvious that political parties and ideologies have become of little consequence in Philippine elections.

Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. jumped from the Nacionalista Party to become chairman of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) on the eve of his filing of his certificate of candidacy (CoC) for president on October 6. From 1980, when he became vice governor of Ilocos Norte, he stayed with the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), which his father organized in 1978 with defectors from the Nacionalista and Liberal parties.