If only majority of the Filipino voters will use their brains and their mature judgment faculties today, the jesters, jokers, and nincompoops who are leading in surveys and informal polls would have no place in the Senate. Non-performing and corrupt congressmen should be voted out of office. And candidates for governors who are facing charges of plunder and multiple counts of graft should not be elected again. Incompetent and low-performing city and municipal mayors should not be elected or re-elected. Voters should reject those who are so inept, habitually negligent, notoriously lazy, or plain stupid so as to ignore such basic problems as garbage, traffic, drugs, crimes, and lack of basic health facilities.
I call upon the electorate, especially the millennial voters to choose senators who know how to make laws, and not those who gave money to OFWs, or give low-cost housing to the poor. Elect legislators who know how to perform and behave well in the Senate or in the Lower Chamber.
Reject those who are members of family dynasties. Reject those whose only claim to being qualified is being the son or daughter of former presidents, former vice presidents, or the wife or paramour of influential politicians. Reject those who have links with drugs, prostitution, and crime syndicates. Reject those who are already 70 or 80 years of age. They cannot even walk straight, how can they run?
I urge all of you voters out there to demand for competence, knowledge, and experience in legislation (for senatorial and congressional candidates) and in investigations in aid of legislation.
This is also true for members of the provincial board or municipal councils). For local executives, city and municipal mayors, voters should examine their ability and capability to execute laws on education, health, social services, and labor. These executives should have knowledge on planning, organizing, controlling, and implementing projects and programs to improve the quality of life and standards of living in their respective constituencies.
And above all, we hasten to interject, demand for honesty, integrity, and fidelity to the trust reposed on them by the people. Do not compromise honesty just because everybody else is dishonest. Demand accountability from these officials.
Ask them how they spent the taxes paid out of the sweat, tears, and blood of the working class. Scrutinize the backgrounds of candidates, ask people around, dig into their track record and ask the Ombudsman's offices for the pending cases against the candidates. Although they have not been convicted, or have just been acquitted, there is already prima-facie evidence against them. Why gamble the future of the whole nation by voting for such unworthy candidates?
I would rather elect an incompetent but honest official, than one with a doctorate in philosophy but with a string of graft cases. Today is the day of judging the candidates. We should have done by now our comprehensive research.