Election season is always confusing.
In fact, some people give up and abstain from taking part, because they realize being a voter requires serious effort. If you’re one of these individuals, don’t be disheartened. Information nowadays is more accessible. It’s quite easy to observe and research about the candidates to find out which one is the best choice.
As voters, we ought to make a few weeks’ efforts of research to ensure we are not wasting our vote. This is better than lazily casting an uninformed vote, and thus being forced to endure another agonizing years’ long-term under an inept or corrupt official.
1. The undeniable disadvantages of showbiz candidates
No matter how truthful celebrity candidates appear, keep in mind that acting used to be (or is still) their way of living. In show business, a celebrity’s main goal is to impress the people. This may pose a problem when the celeb transitions into politics as they may do or say things just for the sake of making a good impression.
As a leader, one should focus on doing the right thing. Ironically, that means that sometimes a leader’s choices will not impress everybody. In fact, in the field of public service, doing the right thing usually leads to negative feedback. Civil servants are painted as the villains, even if they are doing their jobs correctly.
If so, then a celebrity candidate may not really be willing enough to want to solve society’s problems. They merely want to put a smile on our faces.
Giving our vote to this kind of politician is a waste of a governmental position. We can’t afford freeloaders nowadays.
A public servant should not primarily entertain someone who needs guidance. He/she shouldn’t be concerned about appearing attractive or likable while doing his/her job. Besides, it is not a prerequisite in Malacañang Palace to be good at dancing, singing, or acting.
If a candidate tries to entertain you during their campaign, it would be smart to question their intentions. If you feel insulted, this is a good sign! It means you’re able to realize how these types of candidates belittle our thinking skills.
Refrain from insulting them, though. Spare them the embarrassment. Remain polite and leave. You’ve got more important stuff to deal with.
2. The idea behind the “shape-sorter toy.”
Let me explain: when you are playing with a shape-sorter, you don’t put a circle object in a star-shaped hole. You don’t put a square object in a triangle-shaped hole. And you don’t put a pentagon object in an octagon-shaped hole.
Simply because – IT JUST WON’T FIT!
Therefore, a man with a love of numbers who do well in finance, cannot just jump into practicing healthcare. An engineer who designed an innovative car, cannot only begin writing computer programs. A priest with a good understanding of philosophy, cannot just suddenly teach civil law.
And just like our first point, a celebrity who is talented in the arts, cannot just become a politician.
The great thing about the “shape-sorter toy” is that it has a straightforward concept. Playing it merely requires common sense.
But would it be impossible for a circle object to fit into a star-shaped hole?
Not really. As adults, we know we can use other methodologies to make the circle object fit in a non-circle-shaped hole. Depending on the desired outcome, we can use methods such as: hammering the circle object into the hole, cutting it, or burning it. We can even combine these methods in order to get the object to fit!
The same ideology applies to human skills. A person molds himself through education, experience, self-organization, and learning. These are all necessary for one to have enough knowledge and competency in the field one is interested in, so that, that person will be able to have a job relating to his interests and skills.
And similar to playing the “shape-sorter toy”, this requires a process. This process involves compromise, change, adaptability, and continued learning (lots of learning!).
You don’t just hammer a circle-shaped object in order to fit into the star-shaped hole. If you did, it might break into pieces. Yes, breaking it into pieces would then allow you to adjust the pieces into the whole, but that would neglect shapes’ and holes’ purpose. It kind of sounds like cheating, don’t you think?
The bottom line is, a candidate has to have the necessary skills to fulfill the job’s qualifications. This is essential as it basically proves the candidate is capable of effectively carrying out his/her duties and responsibilities.
But what if we elected a seemingly qualified candidate who turns out to be irresponsible once he/she grabs the position?
If there were any other regular employees, the boss would usually give the irresponsible employee a warning. If the employee keeps it up, the boss will then sanction him/her into probation before issuing termination if the employee still refuses to straighten up.
So who’s the boss in this situation? It’s us!
Unfortunately, in a hierarchical society such as ours, it is still quite a challenge to prove to these candidates that we, the people, are the boss. Due to poverty and lack of access to education, a huge chunk of the population is denied the qualifications and skills needed in order to be responsible voters and citizens.
Our own qualifications as voters need to be strengthened, and we should refuse to let that be compromised. We have to remember we are the boss, and that we have the power to set the standard these candidates and politicians must adhere to.
Last but not least: Be wary of candidates who use money to help individuals. Remember, money is just a medium of exchange. Knowledge creates policy, not money.
3. Consider the candidate’s immediate family members.
Based on our political history, a candidate’s immediate relatives have the propensity to abuse their social status. Many politicians’ children, siblings, and spouses have proven they are capable of corruption and getting drunk on a power trip, even though they do not hold a governmental position.
No matter how good a candidate is, we just can’t ignore this kind of risk. In other developed countries, it’s not much of an issue. Specific rules are strictly held in place to prevent relatives from abusing the politician’s status firmly. The public is also educated about these rules, and are aware how to issue complaints against politicians and political families who cross the line.
Unfortunately, the Philippines hasn’t reached that type of awareness and unity yet. The solution for his would be education. Education will increase personal development, which equals to increased social development.
4. Stay objective and rational.
Character is essential, but it is not the only indicator of someone’s capacity to be a good leader.
Ask yourself – why are you voting for this candidate? Is it because:
- They appear to be kind?
- They seem to be sincerely caring?
- Are they religious?
- Did they help a good number of poor individuals? If yes, using which money? Their personal money or tax-payer money?
- Was this method efficient enough? Was it effective enough? If yes, why not sustain it?
Consider that the candidate may be using these as a campaign strategy during the election. During election season, candidates are basically trying to sell you something – themselves.
You see, there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate, but it does not mean we should be settling for less. We pick our best candidate because we think he/she can provide better results.
Unfortunately, it appears that not all candidates (even those who are running at an executive level) have successfully built their characters. Some seem to be doing whatever is popular in order to get the public’s approval.
We should carefully assess a candidate’s character and track record. Why carefully? Because as humans we are composed of a number of hormones, thus making us emotional in nature.
For example, in the absence of education, humans tend to base their decisions on what they feel and less on what they think. At some point, it appears to be what they believe, because their emotions are driving their thoughts. With less information in hand, there’s just not enough thoughts to process. Thus the decision tends to be more emotionally-driven, often making it irrational.
Be objective, and question your thoughts!
People can be objective in their own unique ways. But, generally, in order to arrive at the best possible decision, objectivity should be used with ample information, and this requires education. And when I say education that does not merely mean having a degree or graduating from a school.
Education can still be attained through reading books and online articles; listening to others; witnessing and participating in different events, and could be based on a variety of problem-solving experiences.
5. Kindness and religiousness are clichés.
The fact that it is public service (at least according to papers), kindness is already given. Surely all candidates possess some level of kindness.
But we should not vote for a candidate just because they appear to be kind and caring. That is not the nation’s leaders’ primary responsibility. If our government functions well, us citizens should be able to take care of and be kind to one another and ourselves.
Observe this simple example of cause and effect:
If kindness is the cause, situations could go anywhere brought by human nature or worse, chaos. If kindness is the effect, wow! There must be law and order. Sound policies are in place, and people feel safe enough to be kind.
When it comes to religious candidates, there’s not much to say.
Just try to remember what is happening to other nations wherein religion is mixed with governance. You know what I mean, we see it on television all around the world. Religion is a contentious subject. That’s why we don’t talk about it in workplace or when we are in social events.
I’ll leave you these questions:
- What do you see when religion is mixed with governance and politics?
- If you believe this style works well in other nations, do you think it will work in the Philippines?
- If yes, then which religion should we incorporate? Obviously Catholicism, right? What about other religions in the Philippines? Wouldn’t they feel discriminated? (the politically correct answer would be: “No, we shouldn’t mix religion with governance”. And most Catholics would probably NOT say no because that’s what Catholicism has taught them).
Our national approach towards governance would impact our global presence. Given the fact that:
1) other nations are not Catholics
2) some do not care about religion at all
3) others either do not recognize or even hate Catholicism
If you’re asking, “What level of advantage Philippines would have in a global presence?”
Use religion according to its purpose. It can be vital to one’s being, after all. Yet we should remember other individuals’ beliefs to be respected on a global scale.
A Key is essential, but we do not use it to open a can. Respect the can.
6. Treat every position in public office with the same level of importance.
This is an important guideline. Perhaps we don’t treat a Barangay Official with the same reverence and respect as a President. If so, then please reassess this line of thinking.
Every position, from President, down to every seat in the Senate, down to town Kagawad Officers, is essential. Why? It is because we cannot expect leaders to micromanage everything. They have many responsibilities and roles to fulfill. And remember, this is the Philippines! Home to nearly 100 million people.
This may be why R. Duterte is popular because people are tired of (to name a few):
- Corruption from all levels of the government and even in society.
- Citizens who do not know, do not want to know, and do not want to follow instructions.
- Citizens who commit crime.
- Citizens with god-complexes who think the law does not apply to them.
- Abusive authorities.
- Bullet implant scams in our international airport (also known as “laglag bala” scam).
- Poor infrastructures in many regions.
- Traffic and population congestion in Manila.
7. Familiarize yourself with the current situation and move forward.
This is somehow related to our second guideline about the “shape-sorter toy”.
Every leader is unique. They have their strengths and weaknesses. Try to imagine politicians as a tool.
For example, we can cut objects in different ways. We can use a knife, a pair of scissors, a grinder, a laser, etc. The questions are – what are we going to cut? How do we want to cut it? What results do we wish to achieve?
We can interchange the use of these tools to achieve the best result. We measure the object (assess the situation), grind it with a grinder (make a bold implementation), use a knife if we want it in medium-sized pieces (another policy implementation), measure the cut pieces with a ruler (evaluate what were implemented), use a pair of scissors to cut the object into smaller parts (fine, detailed policies), use a laser to cut off the finer edges (polish the program), then re-evaluate through measuring it until you achieve the desired results.
The same applies when choosing your candidates. Assuming you’ve figured out the possible ones, every candidate has different leadership styles, which may not be suited for Philippines’ current situations. After all, development goes through different phases.
For example, Candidate A is smart, but he excels in economic expansion. That would be great, but is it an excellent first step in the Philippines’ current situation? What about Candidate B? He is skilled in sustaining the situation/task at hand, and he has a good understanding of what it is happening within AND outside the Philippines.
Candidate B thinks, the government is the government, this is its role, and it would care less about entities that are too big to fail. It would be in the politicians’ best interest to safeguard the public, and not risk its safety for some sort of risky ambitious concepts.
Do you think Philippines would be managed well with Candidate B? We are not even close to this stage yet! Then we go to Candidate C; he is well suited for troubleshooting situations, which might involve drastic change.
Well, it’s up to you as a voter to decide.
Different tools are needed for different desired outcomes, and different approaches are required for various situations.
8. Never rely on PROMISES.
A candidate that failed to or chose not to fulfill his/her promises is not something new. It happens all over the world, and I mean it – all over the world including G7 nations. What’s the difference? Wealthy countries have enough “poop bags” with them. That’s why we do not see their shit around easily. Citizens can always blame it on imperfections in their government anyway. See, these citizens are aware.
And one of the things they’re aware of is not all candidates fulfill their promises after winning. A candidate would never really know whatever it is in front of him until he wins the position. In other words, campaigning is all about winning!
A candidate will end up wasting time, effort, and resources if he has less desire to win. And in order to win, he/she has to sell some plans, visions, promises, and (in the Philippines) even jokes! Unfortunately, majority of Filipinos still focus on what they want to hear, than what they need to understand.
If you combine that with lack of information and education, this equals voters biting on the wrong promises. If a candidate has to keep himself entertaining in order to get your attention, don’t you find that insulting on your part? Since it is all about winning in the first place, candidates are forced to keep themselves entertaining because majority of the voters encourage them too. In the end, those candidates end up appearing stupid because majority of the voters have their share of blame.
Be aware that at least half of the news or posts you read near election season are either lies or exaggeration, not to mention the process called spinning might be involved.
Let’s be honest here; it is election season. A lot of shit hits the fan!
In a nutshell: candidates have to sell something in order to win, and it is purely up to the voters if they want to buy it. They offered, but never forced you. Remember, the candidate is just trying to sell themselves – HARD in some cases.
So just like shopping for a new phone, TV or a car, it makes sense that you as the buyer should know what you are about to buy, especially if it is a big decision to make. This requires diligence!
9. Delete candidates who have been involved in any sort of corruption.
Just make them disappear. Not only on your list, but also in your head as well. Don’t even consider them to be an option!
However, if you find some with minimal tinges of corruption, then maybe put him/her to your least priority (it’s just an option though, still up to you). Why? It is because these nasty public leaders work as a team. They know that in order to keep everyone’s mouth shut, everybody has to receive some dirty money. This serves as a form of insurance policy.
For example, before a bothered public servant (who received money) decides to rat his/her colleagues out, he has to consider admitting he is involved with the immoral deed. Then, he will be included in the charges! Worse – only he or a few of the little people will end up going to jail because the majority of those involved “will hold each others’ hands” as they fight for their livelihood! This usually ends with the other public servants keeping themselves in power.
10. Don’t vote for a candidate based on popularity or ratings.
You will see some charts, early survey results, group of people supporting their respective candidates, some memes, and maybe social media posts showing a candidate’s trend. Do not be deceived! Keep in mind that we are in the digital age. A handful of computer software can manipulate content.
Some candidates use ratings as a form of campaign strategy – bandwagoners are rampant. That’s not to say that ratings are unreliable. Sure there could be some truth behind it, but it’s not something that we should bet on.
Personally, I only give a half-point for the candidate if they are famous. This is because ratings change over time and the people who are behind those surveys are MAYBE either unreliable or they just don’t share your point of view.
What if you don’t have some points of view? Then you better have some. There is no right or wrong in making your own point of view. Keep in mind that it belongs to you and you are entitled to it.
Here is the challenging part, though; we are social in nature. There will be times when you want to brainstorm with your friends just to double-check your thoughts. That means you might encounter some undesirable feedback when others share their point of view.
Be open, focus on the ideas (not on your friend’s way of delivering it), and figure out how to digest it. Nothing is wrong when you find yourself less uninformed. Be thankful that you learned something. Above all, nobody knows everything!
11. The looks and generosity.
If you see a candidate good-looking, decent-looking, angelic, attractive, or someone who looks so beautiful that they’d never be capable of committing a crime – think again. We go back to our third guideline: be objective and rational. A person’s appearance has never been a good indicator of his capabilities. Never use a hunch as your primary assessment approach.
You don’t vote for a candidate who appears to be generous or has a habit of solving problems through spending money. If elected, this candidate would be more inclined to mismanaging government funds. There is a place for these types of individuals (e.g., part of a non-profit organization, part of producing something, one of the financiers of something) and it is probably not in the public office.
The Philippines, has been long overdue to shine on the global stage. Corruption has placed us far behind from where we’re supposed to be. Nowadays, the effects of decades-long of corruption are starting to materialize towards its worse.
If not taken seriously, there will be more to come soon. Only a few of us citizens are equipped to tackle the situations around us. In fact, we are obviously struggling to protect our territory by means of being smart (through global influence – which requires extensive education and experience) and by means of having reasonable military force.
We have had some issues with Aquino’s administration. However, looking at the bigger picture, he is still better than the previous administrations under the Fifth Philippine Republic. Today there is no such thing as a leader who does not have any issues. Nobody is perfect. Remember, people are getting more informed as compared to before. Education is more accessible (for some, learning is just at the end of their fingertips), content editing is almost natural, and approaches to many things are more sophisticated.
Thus, there is no way you will not be able to hear or see any issues about public figures, especially while they are in the spotlight. We are all entitled to our own opinions.
If you hear too many issues, it might be because some individuals get paid or can make money out of it. If you hear a lot of complaints, be skeptic about it. Generally, productive individuals do not have much time to complain while those who can not find themselves productive (or at least useful enough to themselves) often have more than enough time to complain.
Yes, there is still poverty in the Philippines. It is true that progress does not happen overnight. Not even in decades. Remember, we are talking about the Philippines here. What the public is missing when looking into Philippine poverty is either they ignore the fact or unaware that it is mostly behavioral in nature.
Politicians will not give a remark about this fact because individuals who are financially poor or have a poor mentality are considered as their lifeline currencies. These individuals, the most vulnerable ones, are forced to do many despicable things in exchange for money with a given advantage of having some sort of “social immunity” because as we say it, they are the vulnerable ones. This sort of “social immunity,” is something that these vulnerable ones never asked for, nor created for themselves. It is an unintended result of our society’s combined elements such as our beliefs (including but not limited to religion).
Since religion has a significant impact on our lives, our priests have told us “Help the poor and those who are needy.” While I totally agree, it still begs the questions of:
1) How should we help them?
2) Up to which extent?
3) Who has the heart to implement it?
So don’t just throw Philippine poverty subject in the hands of the government alone, that’s not going to work at all. Poverty is the responsibility of every Filipino citizen. After all, the backbone of every nation is its people in the first place, and not the government. What’s the root word of government? Govern. They exist to govern and not to be responsible for everything.
Focus on the facts and rely less on social media posts. All sorts of media are meant to provide collective information. Meaning, few contents may not be enough to make a decision. So it takes a bunch of contents for a reader to connect the dots and see what the situation is trying to draw.
Example, a situation could stem from every content supporting other contents versus every content opposing other contents; up to some contents cross-examining other contents. I agree, it is confusing and could be overwhelming for most of us. Get access to data and start from there.
Lastly, don’t just focus on poor individuals as an indicator of progress alone. The patience of waiting for them to succeed is not for everyone. Meaning, if we hear some individuals who are still frustrated that the Philippines hasn’t developed because they still see poverty around, then that’s the kind of impatience we’re talking about. It is crucial that we include them as part of society without any sort of discrimination. Impoverished people should be viewed as an individual, not as a group. If one of them was caught stealing, that does not mean the rest of them are mostly thieves! Be tough enough not to pity them. They should be viewed equally while providing reasonable considerations.
Above all, you start the progress within yourself. Remember, a nation’s backbone is its people. If we have enough individuals harnessing development to themselves, then the Philippines as a nation has a better chance of progressing, too.
During this election, there may be a number of citizens who just sold their votes to a corrupt candidate we do not need. So do not mess up with your vote!
J. Letre