Vote and save

Our country In the Philippines, there are only three ways that we can use to change the administration – barrel of a gun, people power and through voting in a democratic election. There may be those who do not agree that the ideal way is through voting. There are those who have become so desperate they believe that the only way to change our system of governance is through an armed revolution.

I still cling to the hope that it is possible to change our way of governing through democratic, peaceful means. I believe that it is possible to change our feudal system to bring into power people who are not corrupt and can introduce systemic changes into our system of government for the interests of the poor and even the middle class who have no access to social justice.

I believe that this present social system of power belonging to a few can be replaced by a system of governance that gives equal access not only to justice but to education, health, housing, employment regardless of income and family connections.

There are many today who have given up hope that this can be possible through voting. This has resulted in a situation where many do not vote because they believe elections, no matter what the result is, will simply result in a change of faces, not real genuine change.

But there have been few elections which have brought about real change in Philippine politics, good or bad. During the Commonwealth years, Manuel Quezon defeated opposition parties who did not join him in his call for immediate independence. This was one such turning point.

Then there was the victory of Ramon Magsaysay in the 1953 presidential elections. The result was a preservation of democracy by effectively ending the serious threat of a revolutionary takeover by the Hukbalahap (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon), the Communist Party in the Philippines at that time.

Admittedly, not all democratic elections have good results. In 1965, the energy of the youth was not enough to make Raul Manglapus win the presidential election. Instead, the person elected to become president used traditional political methods and ushered the Philippines into more than four decades of tight-fist rule.

Many personalities who I believe would have made excellent presidents were not able to win in Philippine elections. Among them were Claro M. Recto, Raul Manglapus, Lorenzo Tañada, Jose W. Diokno. But I still advocate democracy and the selection of leaders through voting.

I believe it was Winston Churchill who said and I am paraphrasing, democracy may be messy, but has anyone thought of a better alternative? But the success of our democratic election depends on the citizens casting their votes and making sure their votes are properly counted. When the upright citizens of the country do not vote because of indifference or losing hope for a genuine change, the elections will again be dominated by either those who are involved for selfish reasons or those who are there simply to sell their votes.

The election tomorrow will result in the dominance in the voting precincts by the majority who strongly believe change can still come through active citizen participation. In fact, the worst alternative is that the voting be dominated by those who have sold their votes or are voting based on the command of political warlords or politicians who made winning elections as their profession and livelihood and not as a means of changing the country in order to eliminate poverty and injustice.

It is understandable that the focus of almost all voters is on the presidential race. There are some who will also be interested in the vice presidential race. There are very few who are focused on the senatorial race, although this can be almost as important as the presidential race. An independent Senate can serve as a check on excesses by the president in a true democracy. In the past, the Senate included men of intellectual stature, unquestionable integrity and great communicators.  Individuals who were great thinkers, could think on their feet, extemporate without anyone coaching them on what to say next.

So from the Senate we had political leaders who could become presidents. In the halls of the Senate, there were members like Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Manuel Roxas, Claro M. Recto, Lorenzo Tañada, Jose W. Diokno, Raul Manglapus, Ninoy Aquino. It is unfortunate that today, people do not pay too much attention to electing senators. So in the Senate, we end up with many movie stars and celebrities, elected largely because of name recall. Again, I enjoin everyone to pay more attention on their choice of senators.

So, please go out and vote on May 9 if you care enough about the future of our country. Help save us from the clutches of these selfish, self-serving, cynical and double-faced leaders.

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Young Writers’ Hangout on May 14 with Kate Evangelista and May 28 with Joyce Bernales, 2-3 p.m.

Write Things’ six-day summer workshop “Writefest” (now on its 8th year) on May 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27 is now open for registration. Open to 8-17 year olds, it will run from 3-4:30 pm every session.

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