Bu next week, candidates for various elected positions and their supporters will troop to the nearest office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file their respective certificates of candidacy for the upcoming May 2016 synchronized elections. For the past several weeks prospective candidates and their supporters were busy working out possible affiliations and realignments to suit their respective qualifications. Even before the scheduled filing of certificates of candidacy and the campaign periods for both national and local elected positions, supporters of candidates have been visible in gatherings trying to initially win the hearts of the people to be able to boost the chances of their benefactors to win in the conduct of the political exercise.
Members of different sectors have learned to spread lies to ruin the image of their rivals and to boost the interests of their benefactors. What else is new in the Filipino game of politics. What is alarming in most instances is that religious leaders, who have directly and indirectly benefitted from previous and current actions of politicians or have relatives running for different positions, have learned to lie. It is very unfortunate that ranking religious leaders go to the extent of violating the good deeds and actions of God just to be able to influence the public to vote for their anointed candidates even if they blatantly do not deserve to be in public service. Instead of trying to lead people to speak and follow the truth, these enterprising and abusive religious leaders close their eyes to reality that those whom they are supporting are perennial losers and do not deserve to be occupying positions that require public service because they are not fit for such positions.
When election is just around the corner, cause-oriented groups have become disoriented on their advocacies and they go to the extent of twisting facts and figures to advance their chosen candidates from their own ranks whom they believe can institute overnight change. Unfortunately, cause-oriented groups turn into cost oriented groups because they go and support the candidates who can meet their skyrocketing demand for payment in exchange for votes which they cannot actually deliver. Members of most cost oriented groups criticize the government for lapses in the implementation of projects and blame local officials for supporting multinational corporations entering their places but the question that is now being hurled to their candidates is why do they want to enter politics when they all know that it is a matter of numbers that would decide the game?
With the elections right in our midst, self-proclaimed anti-graft crusaders, who cannot even support their illegitimate children, now come to form posing as the ones who can institute change in our society. They better keep quiet because their cases are for sale or in exchange for law books, beauty products, expensive meals in high-end restaurants among other perks they demand from their prospective clients. Before the depict a sin to someone, they must first look at their faces on the mirror in order for them to be able to remove their dirt before removing the dirt on the faces of others. The bible clearly stated he or she who has no sin cast the first stone.
We had been witnesses to events unfurl prior to the filing of the certificates of candidacy of our national and local officials and we saw everything was being done wrong. The decision on whom to vote should not be left to religious affiliation, connection to anti-graft crusaders, who turn out to be paid graftbusters, alignment to cause-oriented or cost oriented groups among others but it should be a product of circumspect and intelligent decision-making by the individual voters.
Let us render the wisest decision in the coming elections by simply reflecting on what had been happening in the past and what will happen in the future. Let us not be hostaged because we are aligned to a certain political party, religious group, cause or cost oriented group, graft busters among others but let our critical thinking prevail.
The groups that are now trying to evolve in the guise of watchdogs are simply the creation of interest groups who have their hidden candidates. Unfortunately, watchdogs just add up to the confusion and they cannot help in educating voters because of their obvious political affiliations, thus, it should be left to our own individual thinking and wise decision-making on whom to vote. Let us allow all these people to go crazy but we know that we are intelligent voters who need not to be influenced by day-dreaming politicians wanting to be in public office to be served and not to serve the greater welfare of the majority.
Let us listen to them but let us decipher which things are being told right and not to believe on their sweeping allegations that what they preach are the ones right and what others state are wrong. These kind of people have no place in our society, thus, they must be weeded out.
