Election 2013 random thoughts (1)

30 January 2013

Election season has definitely, but prematurely set in…well ahead of its official start on Feb 12, when senatorial candidates from the two major contending parties are scheduled to be proclaimed. This is reflected in the evident activities of a large number of competing politicians who try to outdo one another for the attention and favor of their constituents.

This early, the candidates’ veiled campaign schemes range from the subtle to the “garapal”, where they compete against each other for name recall, engaging in personality demolition and even going to the extent of committing murder, just to tilt the political playing field in one’s favor.

How else would one view it, for instance, when politicians suddenly come out in the various media forms (like print, radio and TV) as endorsers of products, or anything they find plausible to gain leverage for themselves. How else would one view it when not just the character of someone, but the person per se is assassinated, unquestionably for political gain.

This is sad because the violations are not only of our country’s law but also that of God’s law, and are perpetrated by (or at least done with the knowledge of) persons who aspire to be our leaders and who, unfortunately for us, are more often than not elected into office.

When one’s chosen leader does not have the discipline to respect laws, or recognize the value of fair play, or conveniently shuns moral dictums in pursuit of his own selfish interests, I wonder what kind of organization, community, or citizenry would develop? To my mind, pitiful would be the organization, community or country that would be in such a situation because my view is that it would stagnate, and much worst, deteriorate in terms of its progress, culture and morality.

Having said this, I am happy to claim that not all of our politicians are like what was earlier described. And to me, the best example is President Noynoy, who after two and a half years in office has not been personally tainted with graft and corruption charges. He also kept his bearings and has not digressed from his “tuwid na daan” as well as his campaign against the “wangwang mentality” despite the non-stop effort of his enemies to discredit him and down play the gains he has achieved regarding these advocacies.

The nation at large recognizes and appreciates what he has so far accomplished and (although, admittedly, a lot more needs to be covered) this has given Filipinos reasons to be more optimistic about the future. Proof of this are the high approval ratings that he has been consistently receiving as reflected in the regular surveys conducted by the likes of SWS and Pulse Asia, as well as the very positive, supportive and at times adoring messages from a large majority of “netizens” who make comments (or responses) to postings in the social network (or internet) concerning President Noynoy. Also worth mentioning is the practically continuous inflow of accolades for him and his administration that has been coming from the international community. And these were given in recognition of the gains attained in terms of governance and transparency, as well as, successes in the financial and economic fields, etc.

Another good example is that of the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo who through his integrity and dedicated leadership succeeded in inspiring a lot of his constituents to become enlightened and dedicated citizens (as well as leaders themselves) and helped in elevating Naga City to the stature that it is now in. It just seems unfortunate that the nation lost him “so early in the game”… but perhaps (as I tend to believe) it is another “divine design”…similar to the sad passing of our beloved President Cory, but which brought about the emergence of President Noynoy who snatched the country from the jaws of another possible national leadership catastrophe and now is leading us towards a dawning prosperity.

There are others who, to my mind, are also in the mold of President Noynoy and Jesse Robredo… among them “Among” Ed Panlilio of Pampanga, Grace Padaca of Isabela, Joey Salceda of Camarines Norte and Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro to name a few. And I’m certain there are still a lot more of them –  of the same mold – who are embedded (and hibernating) all over the various sectors of our society, i.e., in the national government, LGUs, business establishments, NGOs, social organizations, labor force, student bodies, the OFW community, etc.

 I also believe that the “winter” is over for these “of the same mold” as the “spring” that is PNoy has finally set in. Now is the opportune time for them to sprout or flex their muscles and let their presence and influence be felt…for unlike in the 12 year “winter-like environment” of the last two administrations, there now exists the spring-like environment of the current government that would enable them to grow and bloom, and manifest their inherent value.

It is also my thinking that those of us who genuinely love the Philippines should not at this time burden ourselves with worrying about what our lot as a country would be in the next 3-1/2 years. This is because PNoy has already demonstrated, over the last 2-1/2 years, that “broad progress” (which involves not only economic concerns, but also others such as governance, health, security, basic rights and freedom, etc., that are relevant to the “quality of life” that a nation can bequeath to its citizens) is attainable with him at the helm. And more so, such progress would continue to be achieved, and possibly even at an increasing rate, as confidence and expertise in running the government is gained from experience over the coming years – in line with the principle of the learning curve – so that soon enough its empowering effects would be felt by the majority of our countrymen. What we should, therefore, instead focus on, is to pray to our Lord for the continued protection, safe keeping and good health of our President so that he would be able to serve the nation without hindrance over his term, and accomplish what he has set out to do.

But of course, as responsible ordinary citizens, we must also recognize and endeavor to perform our shared responsibility in keeping our country’s upward momentum going. This we can do by actively supporting the President’s “tuwid na daan” (by shunning and fighting corrupt practices) and his campaign against the “wangwang mentality” (by being considerate, disciplined, and adopting/practicing the virtue of integrity).

We should also be aware of and get involved in the battle (now going on) to make sure that those that would be eventually taking over as leaders of the country would be of the same mold as PNoy. This only means that those of us who want the current progress (now being enjoyed by the country) to continue can’t afford to be un-involved and just be a by-stander in this year’s mid-term election because the result of this election may very well dictate the results of the 2016 election.

More on this year’s election in subsequent articles. Meanwhile, comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).