Wiser Filipino voters can cancel the crooked culture of Philippine elections.
The recent survey polls for the presidential elections in the Philippines revealed former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo as the top two choices of the Filipino voters. Their numbers have a significant difference from the remaining candidates who reminded the Filipinos to tout for experience in public service and not for mere popularity as the first COMELEC PiliPinas Debate comes to an end.
To emphasize their message to the public, the other three aspirants namely Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso, and former National Defense of Philippines Secretary Norberto Gonzales broadcasted a press conference on Easter Sunday, the 17th day of April 2022. As individuals from other parties allegedly told them to withdraw their candidacy, Lacson said, “Ang punto ko lang, kung ayaw niyo kay Marcos, mamili kayo sa amin. Kung ayaw niyo kay Robredo, mamili kayo sa amin. Huwag kayo ma-confine na lang sa dalawa.”
Aside from the avid supporters of the top two candidates, politicians also pledge their endorsements to them. On March 22, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla attended a political sortie and gave rewards to Caviteños who will sing or dance summing up to P28,000. The governor, who is also running for reelection, insisted that this cannot be considered vote buying because the campaign period for the local elections would start only on March 25.
On the other hand, within the same day, a Facebook post with an image of a P1000 bill and a pink face mask with Robredo’s campaign logo has gone viral. The author of the post suggested that attendees of Robredo’s rallies receive money whilst also linking her to the CPP-NPA, which VP Leni Robredo denied.
Alongside popularity votes and vote-buying, the personality-based election also takes a hold on the country’s sovereignty. According to an analysis by Pulse Asia, Filipinos opt to base their political choices on the candidates’ personalities. When asked about why they are for a certain politician, “Kasi mabait siya” and “Kasi matulungin siya” are the most frequent responses.
From the get-go, this kind of politics has been observed, especially in the local elections.
True to what had happened on the ground during the campaign period, COMELEC Mariveles Election Officer Mr. Melanio Sibayan, during the face-to-face Voters’ Education seminar held last April 3 at Limay Senior High School, accentuated all of these perennial concerns on Filipino electorate’s decision making every election. The said Limay SHS-Supreme Student Government-backed seminar did not only enumerate the cracks on our people’s choices, but the speaker offered wise insights and advices to overturn them.
Filipinos shouldn’t let popularity, wealth, and good personality steal their sovereignty over our country. They must live up to the purpose of democracy with intelligence and dignity.
As a citizen of a free country, there are ways sovereignty can be reclaimed by the deserving. In a study conducted by the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, the results showed that the candidate’s popularity is the primary factor in the Philippine elections and their characteristics and personal attributes came in third. This says a lot about the crooked politics we have even up to this day.
Considering other factors may be a game-changer such as their experiences in public service, and platforms. These will only be highlighted in debates. As important as a job interview, the electorate must observe the candidates as they lay out their takes on socio-political issues.
Moreover, people should stop normalizing vote-buying. It takes two to tango but if the mindset was cut from the bottom of the chain, there will be no other end but to run in a clean politics. If they are worried that the candidate will not be able to provide for the community or state unlike the others, let us be reminded that the money that funds projects will come from the people’s taxes. Selling one’s vote is deliberately wasting his own money.
Furthermore, social media shouldn’t be glorified. Fake news peddlers are on their shift 24/7. The audience must not believe everything they see on these vulnerable platforms. Recently, it has been proved that technology can run politics in different courses. Users should fact-check as illicit acts like vote-buying can be exploited through social media.
Electing our government leaders is a right of every Filipino. For every right, there comes a responsibility. In this case, it is the responsibility of the public to vote smart and not blindly.
In The Falseman Show, no strings are attached but the fragile and naïve are susceptible to being controlled. One may surrender sovereignty because of mere popularity, wealth, and blinding personality; while the uncaged ones will have the last laugh because he’s the one who became untrue: untrue to his country and its democracy.
It’s a show. It always has been. One can end it if he dares to cancel the sick culture of choosing our leaders through wise decision-making.
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