They’re off and running

We’ve talked about it for months, we’ve dissected their words, we’ve listened to both the pros and cons for each candidate, and now election campaign season has finally begun. Starting this week our national candidates are going to let their voices be heard all over the country and officially begin their campaign.

Personally, I think there has already been a lot said about our choices for the next president of the Philippines. We’ve already been through the Duterte drama of “Will he, won’t he run?” as well as the uncertainty of Grace Poe’s presidential bid, the questions about Miriam’s health, the corruption raps facing Binay, and the particulars of Mar Roxas’ platform. We’ve already picked apart their campaigns and raised questions so we know what we should look out for. I feel that the campaign period is really just about finally listening to their full platforms and truly understanding what their plans are for the country.

I’ve said in previous columns that I truly think this particular election will shape the future of our country. Over the past years it feels like we are really reaching a boiling point as a population in our demands for things to finally change for the better. Million of Filipino voices are asking for their lives to improve and for the government to help elevate them. Now, we finally have an opportunity to have a part in shaping our own future.

We all have ideas about what we want for the Philippines. At its most basic, I feel that Filipinos want to feel that things are finally being updated and improved and changing for the better in the country – from upgrading our infrastructure, to improving healthcare, senior citizen benefits, education, creating jobs, and more. We want to feel that we have better options in our lives. We want to see that the country is using the “economic upturn” to the benefit of all and not just the benefit of the elite few.

Does any one candidate have all the answers to the problems in the country? Most likely not. After all, it’s all about prioritizing. Each candidate is going to prioritize his or her own platforms and programs, but overall, I feel that candidates should focus on the basic of giving Filipino citizens a better life. This means focusing on programs that help improve basic infrastructure, providing better educational options for the youth, boosting the job market and providing ways to help Filipinos find jobs in the Philippines instead of having to go abroad, and improving healthcare and access to healthcare for all Filipinos.

It’s a lot. And I understand that this is not going to happen overnight, but the most important thing is that it starts. We need to start treating Filipinos better here in the Philippines instead of looking out for foreigners all the time. I think we’ve had enough of the wealthy continuing to amass wealth while the poor only get poorer. If our population begins to improve collectively, we’ll all start to see the positive effects on the entire country. We just need leaders who are willing to make an investment in the future of the Philippines.

So as campaign season officially kicks off this week, I can only hope that we, the voters, are more vigilant and particular before making our choice this May. Many have criticized the elections in the Philippines to be one unruly circus, and I can certainly see why they would think that. From Roxas and Duterte’s word war and taunts of physical brawls and duels to the investigation into the Vice President’s alleged corrupt activities, to an initial count of over 100 candidates filing to run for President, citizens have just accepted that this how things are done here and that the “crazy” is part of the process. However, this should not be the case. Elections are an important matter and we should treat them as such. Perhaps it’s time to put our foot down. Enough with the pre-campaign shenanigans and on to the real work.

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Last Monday, along with celebrating the dawn of the Year of the Monkey, the family and I got up bright and early to catch the 50th Super Bowl on TV5. It was such a delight to see one of the biggest sporting events of the world broadcast live on Philippine television. In years past, we had to look for special sports bars that would broadcast the game or pray for decent and steady Internet connection in order to stream the game live from the US.

This year though, we were able to gather in the comfort of our home and catch the game on local TV. It was particularly special for us because of our love for Colorado and the Colorado hometown team the Denver Broncos who made it through the tough regular NFL season to get to a final showdown against the highly touted Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos will always hold a special place in our hearts as we have family from Colorado and have always had a special affinity to the place. My daughter went full force and decked out in her Broncos jersey to cheer on her favorite team. And though it was a nail biting game with the offense on both sides struggling to make a dent, the defense of the Broncos pulled the team through and they emerged the Super Bowl 50 champions.

It was an exciting morning of cheering and celebrating and I’m so glad that Manny Pangilinan’s TV5 gave us the opportunity to enjoy America’s biggest annual sporting event on local television.