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Like many of you, these days I find myself asking people who they're going
to vote for. Most say Lacson, some say Roco, some say Bro. Eddie, and the
majority of course say FPJ. (GMA comes up almost as often as Eddie Gil)
They say nobody can beat FPJ and so a vote for any other candidate would
only be "wasted." For the life of me, the idea behind this concept eludes
my power of reason. How can voting for the candidate you believe in
possibly be a wasted vote? I dare to suppose that what they appropriately
mean, is that voting for a candidate who may not win will be an effort in
futility. How odd then. How bizarre. How truly Filipino. It's a form of
philosophical paradox that can only exist in Philippine politics. "We will
vote for FPJ because he will win, and FPJ will win because we will vote for
him."
I always thought voting was a testament to one's intellect. You've heard the phrase tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are.
That cliché pertains to judging one's personality. For me, voting is a gauge for one's IQ. One can be judged by the choices that he makes in life. Therefore, your vote says a lot about who you are. Vote for a wise man, and you are wise. Vote for a fool, and you are … Well, you can figure the rest.
The masses believe that FPJ will win, so they will vote for him. Not based on platform, on agenda, on intellect, or on the basis of accomplishments. For he has none of the above. Win-ability then becomes the only factor. The people love him because he is a winner, and the fact that he is da king automatically guarantees him the blind love and support of the misinformed, the misguided masa which unfortunately encompasses 65-70% of the population.
I've always said the Filipino people don't want to be led, they want to be entertained. It is as though deep in their hearts they know that their
plight will never be improved by any president, any politics or any government, so they see the latter not as an institution of hope, but a
sarswela or stage wherein the players are there for their amusement, and not for the betterment of their lives. Their life being so depressing, so without hope, they look to newspapers and tv for the "nagbabagang balita" everyday, like so much soap opera fused together with reality tv. But their addiction to entertainment is detrimental to the country's waning survival. The Philippines is an ailing patient on life support, who clings to dear life with one hand, but clutches a lit cigarette in the other. We
know we're dying, we're craving to live, but we can't control our urge for colorful politics. And what can be more colorful than having da king as president? The masses know for a fact that FPJ cannot possibly uplift their daily lives, but it should be good for a couple of laughs, so what
the heck. And these are the loudest voices in our national elections. Vox populi vox dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God. The literate and the educated in this country have no voice, and what little they may have are only drowned out by all this ruckus.
You only get the leaders that you deserve. UP Professor Benito Lim said it best when he said, our ancestors must have done something to draw the wrath of Bathala, Allah or God, for we have been cursed with either supremely inept and/or supremely corrupt presidents for the past fifty years. Truly, God must hate the Philippines.
Vox populi vox Dei, indeed. Let us hope and pray that Bathala will give us a respite from punishment. A break, so to speak. Let us pray that for once, the people will be illuminated by reason, and not by their primal lust for entertainment.
The national electoral process is not a game. It is not sabong. One's shrewdness is not judged by one's skill to predict whether pula or puti
will win. There is no reward if you get the answer right. In fact, the reverse is true, if you yield to popular demand (i.e. the misguided vox populi), we the people, will be on the receiving end of some very serious punishment for the next six years. The prize that hangs in the balance is our national economy, our security, and most of all, our pride as a country. We are voting for a person who will represent the Philippines in the international community.
Can you imagine FPJ in the APEC summit standing amongst world leaders? Can you fathom how he can have a simple dialogue with his seatmate about
national economic policy, the fight against terrorism, the dilemma of the country's participation in trade amidst globalization? Brother, please. He couldn't have a conversation with anyone in APEC even if the latter were a
waiter offering him drinks. The man isn't even conversant in English.
I'm sorry, the man isn't even conversant, period. What little FPJ knows, he memorized from lines composed by Iskul Bukol professor Tito Sotto.
Sigh. You need a college degree to get a simple job as a bank teller or a salesman. Ironically, you don't need a diploma for the highest position in the land. You need to be a Filipino citizen to vote in elections, but you don't need to be one to become President of the republic.
God save the Philippines. |
