Aquino-Roxas. Estrada-Binay. Gordon-Fernando. Teodoro-Manzano. Villar-Legarda. These ten names should be on any good citizen’s mind these days, not just because it’s already campaign season, but because this is one of the few times when we shouldn’t mind being bombarded by politicians’ voices. It’s better to hear candidates speak, than to imagine that their silences make them the least of all evils.
Yes, this could all be only talk—but only when we’re clear about what we want and what our elected leaders stand for can we also hold them liable for breaking their promises. We know the power we hold as citizens—we’ve been through the 1986 EDSA Revolution and EDSA Dos—and while we can be proud of taking to the streets to protest the shortcomings of those in power, it makes sense to choose our leaders more intelligently to begin with. Here, we give you a rundown of the issues that are important to consider as you make the most crucial of choices for the coming elections.
The urgency that is the environment. With Ondoy and Pepeng fresh in our memories, we’re more likely to listen to what candidates say about the environment. What every country—developing countries like ours in particular—needs is sustainable development as theorized by Maximo V. Kalaw, who said that our government must use the environment as the core of its vision for development. Sustainable development sees the log ban and the anti-smoke belching campaign, garbage collection and climate change, as aspects of a bigger picture that’s informed by the more important issues of capitalism, political will, urban planning, and everyday living. Because the recent typhoons have hit even homes that used to withstand storms, the issue of sustainable development is at the forefront of many citizens’ minds—at this time more than any other.
American soldiers in our midst: The VFA question. Remember Nicole? She was one of the many women who suffered at the hands of American soldiers brought to our shores by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Election season is a good time to remember Nicole, and to realize that many women are still being victimized by the industry of prostitution that follows the presence of American soldiers wherever it goes. We must be reminded of this fact as well: the reason behind the VFA was the anti-terrorist project after 9/11. It is now 2010. Will a new leader see fit to adapt policy that suits the current clime?
Foreign debt: Who pays for this? The answer is simple: you do. And at the rate we’re going, even your yet-to-be-born-or-imagined offspring are already in debt. We are made to believe that there’s no way out of our national debt, and that the respectful thing to do is to pay it back. We are in an endless cycle of taking on more debt in order to pay for existing ones, when there is a worldwide call for all third world debts to be repealed and for all countries like the Philippines to be considered debt-free. Instead of supporting this call, past governments have chosen to pay. Though this issue has been neglected in favor of other problems that get more airtime, it’s one that is here to stay, and our potential leaders should have a plan for dealing with it.
You have a right to speak, woman! The number of human rights violations and politically motivated killings has been at its highest with the current government. The recent crisis in Maguindanao has driven home the point that no one—man or woman, journalist or activist, civilian or student—is spared. Any potential leader must not only respond to this injustice, but must also prove to be open to criticism and respectful of the people’s rights to speech and assembly. In a democracy, there is no place for violent dispersals and extrajudicial disappearances; in any democracy, any woman should be able to air her opinions without fear.
ChaCha by any other name… The reasons behind wanting to change the constitution may be correct; we might all even agree that our democracy is dysfunctional. But this doesn’t mean that charter change must be done now, and quickly. The decision to change our political system to a parliamentary one has to be treated with objectivity, and the process needs to be respected. If we can’t trust the people who are pushing for charter change, how can we even imagine this change to be a good thing?
Respecting the right to education. Education in this country isn’t considered a basic right; instead, given the rising costs of private education, it has become a privilege. Meanwhile, real and crucial change has yet to happen in our public educational system which is consistently plagued by the same things: badly-written textbooks, classrooms that aren’t conducive to learning, students with no money to even get to school, and teachers who aren’t receiving respectable pay. What remains are DepEd and CHED officials who haven’t stepped into a classroom to teach in a long time, but who insist on blaming teachers on the ground. A new president must have a plan for the public educational system that respects not just the students’ right to learn, but teachers’ academic freedom and right to earn a decent living. This requires a president who has a vision for public education, and who will not be afraid to shake the system up even if it means changing the people who run it.
The migration question. While we rightfully celebrate our Overseas Filipino Workers by calling them what they truly are, Mga Bagong Bayani, it is important to realize that we only have OFWs in every corner of this world because of one reason: the sad state of both education and employment in this country. OFWs are Filipinos who leave for greener pastures because they can’t even imagine greenery in their own country; these are Filipinos who end up underemployed elsewhere in the world because this country refuses to justly value their work here. A good leader would know that the ideal situation is one where no Filipino has to leave this country in order to survive. In fact, the ideal situation is one where all Filipinos have a choice to stay here—and take it.
The right jobs, for the right people. Which does bring us to Filipinos who still choose to stay in this country because they can afford to. That’s you girl, who can get a job here, given your good education and how it prepared you for a well-paying job. Many of us, though, are underemployed—many in the business processing and outsourcing (BPO) industry, which makes it important to see that for all the glory the BPOs have brought us, this is an industry that’s here because we are considered cheap labor. More importantly, we must realize that this is an industry that has a deadline: the moment there’s cheaper labor with better English skilled workers elsewhere, this love affair with BPOs will be over. The next president needs to have an employment plan that values the skills of its workers enough to make sure that these skills are matched with worthy and just jobs—plain and simple.
Working girl, you’ve got a right to your money! Today’s Filipina prides herself in being independent, earning her own money and knowing where it goes. Unfortunately, the latter doesn’t always hold true. For example, our pay slips say that we give a percentage of our earnings to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) or the Social Security System (SSS), but how many of us actually use these benefits? How many of us know where it goes and can figure out how to get it when it’s needed? The president we elect needs to have a plan for our funds, one that will make help easily available to us in times of need, with a system that will hold someone accountable when our funds go missing.
Women’s rights and the RH Bill. Perhaps the most decisive issue for any Filipina voter is the Reproductive Health Bill or the RH Bill. None of the presidentiables have categorically said yes to the approval of this bill. This is a sad fact, which isn’t really surprising, given the RH Bill’s bad press. It would do all women good to read the RH Bill itself, and see for themselves that it is not at all an abortion bill, nor is it about immorality. The RH Bill does nothing but allow every Filipina to own her body, regardless of social class. Our prospective president shouldn’t just say he is pro-woman; he should prove it by respecting the woman’s right to choose what should happen to her body, and in effect, her life.
We must realize, of course, that educating citizens about how to vote using the automated system is a must. While we’re at it, we should also learn how to decide who that vote goes to. When we take our selection of candidates and the outcome of the elections seriously, we’re better equipped to participate in the electoral process. These issues are merely guidelines—you can decide to vote for someone even if he doesn’t meet your criteria for all of them—but they should at least have a significant impact on your selection. Knowing where your candidates stand and deciding accordingly is one way to empower yourself and make your vote count.
