An upright voter's election decalogue

Whoever said: "Give me 12 committed men, just 12 young men, and I shall turn the world upside down"? Was it Jesus, referring to his 12 disciples? or Jacob with reference to his 12 sons, who would later head the 12 tribes of Israel? Was it Mao in reference to his core group of revolutionaries?

I wish to paraphrase that. If there are at least 10 voters in any precinct, or 100 in every barangay, perhaps 1,000 in every municipality and maybe 10,000 in every province, or one tenth of a million in the country, then I can turn this nation upside down. To make the team work, there should be a set of core principles and guiding policies.

That’s why I have formulated a set of 10 commandments to guide upright voters, conscientious Filipinos who aspire to bring about positive and meaningful change in the Philippines. If there are only a few stout hearted men and women who have the courage to stand up for what they believe in, and to fight for their principles and values, then there would still be hope for us.

Thus, today, in voting, choose competence over popularity. Go for integrity rather than for being good-looking. Select the one who has values rather than those who have wealth. Examine his family; a man who cannot be faithful to his wife cannot be faithful to the country and people. Look at his track record in school and his career; these are indications of his true character.

Look at the candidates' vision for the country, province, city, or municipality. What are his advocacies and platform of government, plan of action? Look at their advocacies. What do they stand for and what are their ultimate aspirations for the country, people and government? Examine their party's core principles and basic policies, their stand of leading economic, social, and political issues, where they stand on human rights, social justice and the rule of law.

Also, be sure with the true motives of each candidate who is running. Is he out to serve the people or to protect business interests? Is he running to offer his talent and time to help build people and communities, bring about positive and meaningful changes in government, or only for the money, power, and prestige?

Above all, reject all candidates who belong to a political dynasty. Dismantle the web of the controlling elite and oppressive ruling class. Never vote for a candidate whose spouse, sons, daughters, parents, or siblings are also running or are incumbent officials. Denounce family dynasties and condemn all who belong to clans and families who monopolize decision-making and persecute those who oppose them.

To put the decalogue in perspective, First: choose candidates who are competent, who have the technical and educational credentials to perform the tasks of the position. Never vote for candidates simply because they are popular, good actors, or effective jokers. A public office isn’t a joke. Second, always insist on integrity, honesty, and reliability, with no record of dishonesty and fraud, malversation, falsification, or forgery. Choose only the truly trustworthy.

Third, demand the candidates stand on values of hard work, diligence, and commitment to public service, they must focus on genuine welfare of the people. Fourth, candidates should have an impeccable record of faithfulness to their marriage and reliability as parents to their children and devoted children to their parents. Those not faithful to their spouses or committed to their families can never be relied on to be faithful to the nation.

Fifth, examine their track records. What were their accomplishments in school in their professions and careers? These would indicate what kinds of decisions and actions they would take when they are elected. Sixth, look at their vision for the country, province, city or town? If they don’t have any vision, they wouldn’t know where to bring their people and their country. Seventh, know their advocacies and platforms. Be familiar with their plan of action.

Eighth, determine what their party's core principles are. These will tell us the kind of public servants they will be. Ninth, examine what really is the candidates' true motive for running. Many of them are in it for the money, power, prestige, and glory. Some of them are out to protect their family or business interests. Tenth, never vote for any member of a family dynasty. You know who they are.

If we can only have one tenth of the country's population to adhere to all these, then there’s hope for this country.