The fighting arena

As the filing of the certificates of candidacies comes to a close, we now have a clearer picture of those who are vying for the position to lead the country. Being the president is very coveted because of the power and influence one can get from it if being elected into this golden seat. But the responsibility is enormous; it is not all glitz and glamor such as living in a palace such as Malacañang. The chosen president must lead the country out of the current state that we are in, full of problems.

However much you argue, we are still in the situation that we were in after the Spaniards colonized us centuries ago. But we contend that we are now in a better place, with technology coming into society. Yes, that is also true yet we are in the same political context then with the likes of betrayal, corruption, and deceit. We probe our own government agencies and branches because some whistleblower told us of their anomaly. We are in one ecosystem where we feed off each other and that is just so sick as it is.

In the next few months, the Commission on elections will have to streamline the candidates and come up with the best ones who are supposedly fit to run the current state. I came across a post of my professor who likened this fighting arena to that of a business decision. Since I am also running a small business myself, I seem to have liked the idea.

First, we imagine that our country is a store where the manager is about to leave because of an expired contract. That manager wasn't that good anyway. As the owner of that store, we are duty-bound to choose who would replace the manager. We could either choose between the assistant manager who has worked exemplarily, the athletic employee who has a heart but barely shows up, the son of another former manager who almost killed the business due to anomalous transactions, the savvy security officer who has done a lot but could be shady, a branch foreman who still lacks experience, or the current manager's daughter who is just like her father. When we lay down the premise, track record, and experience of every candidate then our horizons open up to cast our vote to the best possible person.

Then again, this is the Philippines where every vote is bought for by money distributed in the underground at the wee hours of the morning. Nobody listens to debates, or at least there are some who do. The masses pay attention to dances, promises, jingles, and the like. It is where controversy is worth the time to discuss rather than the real work done prior to the election. But as the song in my favorite musical “Cats” goes, another day is dawning. I believe so. The status quo now brings about rage which translates to better choices.