“What this country needs is not just a change OF men, but a change IN men.” – Senator Richard Gordon

“Those in power should dutifully implement the laws WITHOUT FEAR, even if this would mean the loss of votes.  This is POLITICAL WILL.” – Bayani Fernando

 

I decided to open my latest entry with those two quotes by the tandem I’m supporting for this year’s election because these are very powerful words that are backed up by years of experience and proven results.  There’s no doubt about it:  we want change.  or rather, we need change.  Almost a decade has passed of unabated abuse of power, disillusioned progress, and unfathomable backdoor politics, so naturally, most of the candidates’ battlecry in their campaigns is change.  But now I pose the question:  do we really know what kind of change we’re looking for?

 

In my opinion, most of us Filipinos are afraid of change.  And I mean real, way-of-life-altering kind of change.  For one, some can’t do away with the apprehension of holding the first automated elections in the country and still want to have the old way of casting and counting ballots.  Nevermind that the Comelec is perceived to have been “ill-prepared” or were rushed into having the automated elections be held this year.  For God’s sakes, we’re already a technologically sound country, the texting capital of the world, with more and more Filipinos using the internet, and we’re still holding on to the old ways of writing down names and taking weeks to count the votes before a winner is proclaimed?  Give me a break!  I understand the apprehension, but why not give this automated elections a good run first and whatever mistake(s) are made, they can be used to improve on the next elections three years from now.

 

Another thing, I think that most of us feel that as a people, we’ve endured so much hardship that we need–no, we deserve–a break.  We feel that we have been through so much that we rely on politicians to help us out.  We ask the government–of all institutions–for help.  And when we don’t get it, we blame them too.  Almost all of the class D and E families have that “woe is us” mentality that they fall prey to opportunistic politicians, especially during election period.  With this mentality comes the “we’ll-vote-for-him-because-he-helped-us-out-personally-and-nevermind-whatever-crime-he-did” mentality.  I have witnessed this first-hand during a family reunion I attended this past December.  Unavoidably, politics and the election suddenly became the topic.  I was intently listening to uncles and aunts saying that they’ll vote for this candidate because he gave their family financial assistance of some sort.  I asked them about the issues being hurled against this candidate, and my aunt bluntly said, “i don’t care whatever scandals he did, or if he oppressed other people, as long as we were helped, i’ll vote for him.”  I was surprised and shocked at those words.  Another example, one of my favorite uncles will be voting for a different candidate.  I asked him why, and he said, “because when he was president, the dollar exchange rate was close to 55 pesos.  When GMA became president, the exchange rate fell to 45 pesos.  I don’t care if the economy goes down, as long as the exchange rate is high.”  What?  I mean, have we really gone this far?  I tried convincing him to change his mind, and his reply to me was, “they’re all the same.”  Sadly, that is also the mentality of most of our senior citizens.

 

Political analysts say that the youth vote will make a difference in this election.  Unfortunately, there are youth sectors who were raised with the old-school form of politics and are proponents of the same brand of politics.  The biggest irony i’ve seen is this so-called militant youth group was protesting the joint military exercises in the country, saying it’s unconstitutional, or it’s a form of meddling in our affairs, or even a violation in our sovereignity.  They take to the streets, to the US Embassy to express their “right to assemble.”  They become aggressive because of their so-called patriotism and become physical with the police who are in their way and when the police hit back, they cry foul.  And what’s more, 90% of the families of these militant youth groups have a relative or an immediate family member working in the US.  Talk about irony of ironies.

 

Which now leads me to the candidates.  Have you really took time and profiled all of the candidates running for office?  I must admit, before the filing of candidacies, I was hell-bent on supporting Chiz Escudero amid rumors of his plan to run for president.  But when he backed out, I decided to take the time to carefully scrutinize each candidate before I can fully support one.  Thank goodness Chiz backed out because it led me to supporting Dick Gordon and Bayani Fernando.  All the more that I’m thankful for Chiz backing out because it turned out that he’s supporting Noynoy Aquino and Jojo Binay.  I thought that he would be the symbol of change for the future of Philippine politics, turns out that he’s not.  Noynoy Aquino?  Same old politics; nothing to show for as far as legislative and executive experience is concerned which is a glimpse of what his mother’s presidency was like; no change.  Manny Villar?  Monetary politics; self-made progress which will transcend once he wins; no change.  Joseph Estrada?  Also old politics; also self-made progress; out to exact revenge against his political enemies once he wins; definitely no change.  Gilbert Teodoro?  Same administration; same intellectual talent; minimal results.

 

What we need is real change.  Leadership is not about being overly sympathetic to the people, but more on inspiring people to get out of their comfort zone and make the changes within themselves.  Leadership is about results and getting the job done.  Not about what is being promised during the campaign and backtracking on it after winning because of whatever reason(s).  Leadership is about instilling what is the common good for everyone, not just for the few.  I have been a Team Leader, an Assistant Manager, and an Operations Manager.  And the
kind of leadership I provide is the same as what Gordon-Bayani provides.  Results.  If we want real change to happen, it starts by not having the “shallow sure thing” mentality of choosing our next leaders.  It starts by all of us making the time and effort to believe that the presidency is about who is better qualified for the position, not someone who looks good or who is leading in the surveys.

 

Sadly, most of us think that as long as someone new sits in Malacañan Palace after June 30th, that is enough.  And that the people are always watching and that if push comes to shove, we’ll organize again and boot that person out of office by taking to the street en masse.  Really?  How does that constitute change if we ourselves cannot change the way we act, think, or look at things?  Let us do away with the old politics and infuse a better, more organized and disciplined politics.  With 13 days to go, now more than ever, we need to re-evaluate our priorities in this election and what we really want for our country.  Just a physical change?  Or a physical AND attitude change that will transcend to real results?  And with that, I ask you, “what does YOUR candidate have to offer?”