The quality of the elected mirrors the quality of the electors

Whether it’s the pope, senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, and councilors, the truth remains: the kind of public figures we choose is the embodiment of the nature of our decision-making, the quality of our thinking process, and the soundness of our judgments or lack of it.

In the case of the pope, the cardinal electors, or at least two-thirds of their total number, chose the one they discern can best address their definition of the challenges that the Church faces in the next five to ten years. Is the new pope going to be a pillar of strength, who shall defend the conservative values and the unchangeable dogmas that cannot be compromised, or should he be a passionate advocate for liberal changes, embracing the changing realities of the times?

In the case of the senators, the choices of voters also mirror the more compelling needs of the people. Take for instance, the rather unexpected surge of Bong Go who, although a reelectionist, never held another office before, not even as barangay chairman. What was the driving force that made him click? Well, his claim of being the advocate of the Malasakit indicates that medical care is one of the top three needs of the people, next to food and social justice.

The victory of such characters as Erwin and Ben Tulfo also manifested the peoples' disillusionment with the inefficiencies, corruption, and lack of pro-people temperament much less customer-orientation among the bureaucrats, police, prosecutors, judges, and other government officials and personnel. The Tulfos, starting from their eldest brother, Ramon, have become famous for their rather brash, accusatory, and adversarial treatment of government functionaries who are being complained of by many disgruntled Filipinos.

The win by Tito Sotto and Ping Lacson mirrors the temperament of the voters which seem to reward a good track record when they were in the Senate in the past. In fairness to Tito, albeit better known for the Tito, Vic, and Joey trio, he performed well as a senator and as Senate president. Lacson isn’t a lawyer but he performed well in the Senate with more impact than Tol Tolentino.

It’s a pity that Kiko Pangilinan didn’t do well despite his good past performances. His major mistake was his sudden and confusing shift of messaging. He has always been known as a brilliant lawyer from UP. But he shifted to agriculture which the people couldn’t comprehend, and even if they understood, they couldn’t just swallow. Kiko had no monumental accomplishments in agriculture. His failure to excel in the last Senate vote is a misfortune because we really need lawyers to counter the actors and boxers.

The poor showing of Imee Marcos was a huge backlash and the people punished her for consistent inconsistencies, if I may say so. Ilocanos punished her for betraying her own brother. People were irritated when she shifted from Marcos to Duterte. She had no core messaging. She should have learned from Go who snatched the goodwill generated by Malasakit and never let go of it.

Camille Villar was the top spender by the looks of it. Many months before the election, Camille's posters were all over the cities and the hinterlands. Her reminders to drive slowly were on every coconut tree and lamppost. But she belongs to a business empire which is not known to be pro-labor, much less pro-environment, and never pro-consumers.

The victory of the actors, boxers, and entertainers who are better remembered for dancing budots or being the supremo in “Batang Quiapo” or “Ang Probinsyano”, indicates the masses' exasperation with lawyers and highly-educated professionals who weren’t pro-people at all. When voters go for Manny Pacquiao it’s the warning to the elite that they have a defender in the highest echelon of policy-making.

The waning electoral performance of Pia Cayetano and Abby Binay is a declaration of the peoples' emerging turning off vis-a-vis family dynasties. The younger electorates are making themselves heard. They are growing sick and tired of trapos who make the Senate and House a family corporation. To me, such a trend is positive and should be reinforced and nurtured by the thinking members of the voting hoi polloi.

I am not too disappointed with the results of the senatorial race. I am happy that many of the incompetents have failed to make it. At least, there is an emerging ray of hope for this nation. I am also happy with the papal conclave. There is a new voice that can change the world.