Election 2010

Aah, yes, it's that time of the decade once again. Philippine national elections, ladies and gentlemen. No other event in current history can provide as much irony, hilarity and disbelief as the time when our beloved nation gets to choose its leaders for the next 8 years (or even less, depending on the country's capacity to tolerate idiocy and blatant thievery and the enthusiasm of the masses to gather once again in the famed spot in EDSA). Despite the fact that I am outside of the country, hence "removed" from the effects of the outcome of this increasingly futile exercise (can you say "dagdag-bawas"?), I still have family there. Family to whom I send hard-earned foreign currency on a monthly basis, and who keeps telling me is not even enough to buy a month's worth of meals for them. P200/kilo for pork? OMG! What are they feeding these cholesterol-laden animals? Truffles? But I digress.

Anyway, let's return to the topic on hand. The national elections. I can smell the money exchanging hands from where I am (as well as hear the gunshots), how's that for blatant? And what's with the candidates for president nowadays? Are we really doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? Are Filipinos cursed with historical redundancy? As hard as it is to pick the future leader of the country, one that's supposed to bring the Philippines to the forefront of growth in a recovering global economy, why make it harder by providing candidates that are not only unsuitable, unqualified or just in it for the money, but are also so removed from the suffering of the masses, it's ridiculous!

Why are the only people running for public office are the ones living in exclusive subdivisions, who owns several modes of transportation, who can afford to eat in fancy restaurants, vacation overseas and buy the latest thingamajigs? Maybe because those are prerequisites for those prestigious positions? How come the people we choose to change the way we live for the better have the best lives ever, and therefore does not really need to concern themselves with improving other people's lives, just maintaining their status quo?

I remember participating in a debate when I was still in high school. The topic was to prove that elections are indeed a sign of democracy. I was in the "anti" group. My stand then was that choosing one's leaders does not translate to obtaining the ideals of democracy, which is freedom of speech and improvement of life. As an example, I cited rampant traffic as one of the most obvious problems which cannot seemed to be solved by elections or any democratic power for that matter. My opponent graciously demurred, stating that he has no problem with traffic, as he walks to school. I had to applaud his flippancy. Apparently, this is the same problem we're facing with the people currently running for public office. They do not have a problem with traffic. They take helicopters, or have police escorts everywhere they go. They've never faced the problem of looking for their next meal, have never been unemployed or have felt the tight belt of a small salary made smaller by taxes.

Is there a point in all of this ranting, you ask? It's around here somewhere. Yup! There it is. Maybe it's about time we THINK clearly BEFORE we TICK a name in the ballot. We've been voting on the basis of sentiments for such a long time. Sentiments are good when you're picking gifts or clothes. Loyalty is ok when picking brands of toothpaste, shampoo, electronics. We choose those based on previous, good experience. But what about when choosing our new leader? Why should we let sentiments get in the way of common sense? Sure he's honest and the son of a national hero, but how many years of political background does he have? Won't he still need to rely on the advise of his elders (trapos) to make crucial decisions? What about the administration's rooster? Kind of the same, isn't it? The old(er) guys running, what about them? They all have their strong points. But we still need to ask the relevant question: can one really translate the success in a municipality/economic zone/area of responsibility to the entire country?

I end this blog in this note: after years of submitting ourselves to the "lesser evil" (which actually turned out to be THE devil herself, I mean himself), isn't it about time we try NOT to choose "evil" but rather use our "coconuts" to pick the best? May everyone be able to choose wisely this May.

p.s. who's this "wisely" guy anyway? every election, people are asked to choose him, but he never seems to win. poor wisely. :P