In Choosing the Next President,
Who you are voting for reflects your morals and standards as well.
In a few months, people will once again be lining up on the streets. We see tired eyes and bodies filled with sweat across streets, buildings, and cities.
As early as now, we can see everywhere arguments and insults. Friendships are broken and bridges are burnt as each person declares who they are campaigning for.
I know who I’m voting for. But let’s put biases and preferences aside as we read this.
Two principles that I have stood by and kept with me as I choose and vote for the next leaders of the Philippines are asking the questions, “What morals do they show?” and “Take away their name, and what are they left with?”
People may choose to stay apathetic, but we shouldn’t. We have a choice. We can make a stand. We can choose to make the Philippines better, as is, or let it come to ruin.
“What morals do they show?”
Have you heard of cancel culture? Cancel culture is brutal, especially against celebrities. The story of Amber Heard abusing her husband has caused people to boycott and call out Warner Bros. and the production itself to recast or else they stop watching and supporting the following movies. Hearing Kim Kardashian twist the phone call of Taylor Swift and Kanye West was wild and has caused people more hatred against the reality show superstar. And Kanye West’s fiasco against Billie Eilish has caused people to question Kanye West and her calling out two girls in his time being a celebrity. We bring such a high standard of moral choices to celebrities. Why not do that to the next candidates?
Is he anti-poor? Does she respect the different cultures, celebrations, and traditions of the different indigenous groups of the Philippines? Does he bribe people to vote for him? Did she fake her credentials? Does he have a backbone? Is she concerned with the people she will lead? Is he rewriting history? Does she have a case of corruption or tax evasion? Is he a homophobic, a sexist, an enabler? Does she know about the economic situation of the Philippines? Does he care more about the people or more about the money? Is he knowledgeable and competent in leading the country? Did she graduate in any degree or program that can knowingly and undoubtedly help progress the nation? Will he not back out or betray his allies in times of hardship and temptation? Does she love the Philippines, and does she show it?
“Take away their name, what are they left with?“
If in the United States, voters are divided into two, “Democrats” and “Republicans”, in the Philippines, it’s kind of the same thing. (This is an oversimplification — I completely understand this, but allow me to show my point.) We also have the “Dilawans” (Yellows) and the Marcos Apologists. You can choose to vote for Bong Bong Marcos, and people will tell you-you are a Marcos Apologist. Vote for Leni Robredo, and people will label you as a Dilawan (or Pinklawan). But if you take away their name and what they associate their name with, what will be their achievements? Will they be still worthy in your eyes to be the next president?
If you remove Leni Robredo from being associated with being a part of the Dilawan campaign in the past, who is she? Does her degree show her competence? Does her experience within and outside of the government show that she has the values, the knowledge, and the experience to lead the country with a hundred and ten million people in the next six years?
If you remove Manny Pacquiao’s name and what you see in front of you as a mere man, do you think he has the knowledge to lead the Philippines? For sure, we can see that this man is a skilled boxer, who has given pride to the country in the world of sport, but is he competent enough to lead the country? Are kindness and charity enough to bring forward this country in times of hardship and division?
If you remove Bong Bong Marcos’s name and what you see in front of you is a man, do you think he is capable of leading the Philippines? Would you want a person who will lead the country to be someone who refused to acknowledge what not just the Philippines, but the entire world, sees as a momentous and historical moment — the EDSA Revolution — as something that did not happen? Do you trust someone who has not graduated and lied to have claimed to be graduated when he does not need to lie? Do you see yourself being led by a person who refuses to acknowledge history and corruption and the debt this country has fallen to for the next six years?
If you remove Isko Moreno’s name and what you see in front of you is a public servant, do you think he is trustworthy enough to lead the Philippines? Will theatrics and being in front of the camera be enough to lead the country in the next six months? Will shifting and moving to different allegiances be enough to trust in him wholeheartedly if he leads the country?
If you remove Ping Lacson’s name and what you see in front of you is a mere senator, do you think he is compassionate enough to lead the country? Will he care or be concerned about the citizens’ freedom of speech or will he take it away from the first chance he gets? Will he be concerned about the life of each Filipino, or simply choose the lesser of two evils, dismissing the lives that were lost?
One last word of caution. Who you are voting for reflects your morals and standards as well. Do you have the same morals as a kind person, a murderer, a thief, a lawyer, a philanthropist, a liar, a feminist, an economist, a person worthy to be called president?
