Important Issues For the 2010 National Elections

This is in response to Janette Toral’s tag.

It’s quite noble to analyze the dynamics of an upcoming election despite already knowing how elections are usually played out in this country. It’s no big secret that those who decide the election are the misinformed masses who wouldn’t really care about issues. We would be lucky if these people would even give a token glance on issues before making up their minds on who to vote for. Politics is a simple game of persuasion wherein a box of liquor (during a supposed alcohol ban) and a few hundred pesos per voter could change the fates of candidates.

Cynicism has its place in elections because society has not properly empowered the voters. To a certain extent, society doesn’t exactly promote healthy debates and arguments to occur due to the Filipino concept of pakikisama (compromising to get along) and conformity. Aside from the Charter Change issue, is there any other big concept out there that is contentious and worth debating about? None! Because ALMOST all Filipino politicians are centrists. The only people who stick out are those who are rabidly leaning towards to the left like the party-list representatives from the Communist Party of the Philippines and the few bold and brave men like Ping Lacson and Bayani Fernando who choose to go against the grain and push for controversial bills regarding population control and sex education.

Everybody else stays in the middle. They simply try to weather the social judgments to hopefully gain the endorsements from various pulpits. The least offensive candidate always wins. For a people who loves to whine about the lack of change and how the status quo is wanting, Filipinos almost always go for least disagreeable candidate instead of going for the candidate with the strongest ideas to address certain issues. You can’t blame them though. There are no debates - there are no contentious points to launch substantial arguments from. Due to this void, the electorate has no choice but to simply go with something more accessible - the personality, affiliation and background of the candidates.

Deviance - whether ideological or otherwise — has no place in the political arena. Pre-election, opinions that would go against the prevailing intentions of the local parish would easily make a candidate unelectable. Post-election, this would lead to the alienation of that elected official. This aversion to deviance is of course a result of the influence of the various institutions that have stood in our country for so long.

In 2010, no candidate will say that he isn’t for the environment. No one will dare claim that education is unimportant and doesn’t warrant funding. No one will debate and I bet a shiny five peso coin that no one will say anything remotely substantial. It will be all glamor, glitz and sashaying all over again.

There are only three relevant issues that will decide the outcome of the 2010 polls:

1. Fooling the masses

Elections are won and lost on the basis of sincerity regarding poverty alleviation. All candidates woo the poor and try to win their hearts and minds (term used loosely). If you can prove that you were cousins with a laundry woman, your stock rises dramatically. Consider yourself elected!

2. Face Time!

Advertising is expensive so unless you’re willing to hemorrhage three hundred thousand pesos for a 30 second ad placement, you better be crafty and creative. Why not schedule your child’s baptismal or heck, your own wedding on the days leading to the election! Our classy journalistic sector will lap this up in no time and chalk it up as human interest. Anyone else betting on a Korina Sanchez - Mar Roxas nuptials on 2009?

3. MONEY!

Unless you’re a throwback to the hacienda era, you will need to raise oodles of money to get elected. How do you do this? Simple, just link up with any drug ring or gambling syndicate and you’ll get the funds that you need. It’s a perfect match. The syndicates get protection while you get non-taxable, untraceable campaign contributions. It’s definitely a win-win!

 

 

And you, fellow Filipinos, will love them to bits.

 

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February 9th, 2008 in blogging, politics

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