The race is on

Many summers ago, I always followed the races. I don’t mean the horse races, because we don’t have that in Cebu, but what sportswriters referred to as the country’s summer spectacle – The Tour.

The past several years, we never had a Tour as big as those events in the past where many cyclists claimed instant fame and some fortune being the king of the road.

This summer, although this is not the correct term for the few months that the kids are off school as we don’t have such season here only wet and dry, we won’t be seeing another spectacle on two wheels, but something else.

The race for the national positions started several weeks ago, that for the local positions only kicked off yesterday.

Just like the summer cycling spectacle, this race involves many individuals and many teams, but in the end, there will only be champions and a whole bunch of individuals that will become also ran.

In the Tour, the individual talent of a cyclist will not be enough to win him the overall title. I believe the same can be said in the elections.

One very good candidate will not be enough to pull his party to victor as it takes a major team effort to win.

I have observed several elections as a journalist and I believe that the biggest reason why we end up with leaders, who are not the best among the choices, is that most people don’t care.

If this were the multi-stage cycling race, the best effort you can put in to help a cyclist you are rooting for would probably be to go to the starting line or the route and cheer for him. You can probably offer water, but you can’t push his bike or offer to give him a ride in your car.

In the elections you can take an active role in the campaign of a candidate. You can campaign for your bet, you can lend your time and resources, or you can put posters all over your house and vehicles.

In the elections, you can be more than a mere spectator if you really intend to help bring about change.

With the race now on for everyone running for public office in the May 10 polls, let us not sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Let us all do our share as citizens not necessarily to campaign for one bet or a party, but also to be discerning people when we choose who to vote for.

I remember a funny incident in the cycling event of our intramurals at UP Cebu College many years ago. The bet of our team used a BMX bike, which he rides to school everyday while that of another team used a road bike, which was best suited for the event.

The BMX rider handily won the race with his no nonsense pedaling while the guy on the racer and the others in similar bikes didn’t even know what hit them.

When they realized that the BMX rider was way ahead of them, it was too late and when they crossed the finish line, teammates of those in the road bike, were about to complain that the guy in the BMX was using a bike ill-suited for the race. But the BMX rider did not cheat. He just did his job without fanfare unlike the guy in flashy racer.

In the elections, popularity and machinery would help a candidate gain votes, but voters should not be blinded by such. Let us be wise. Let us also exercise our freedom to vote.

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MILESTONES: Birthday greetings go to my cousin Harlie Kenn A. Quiñones, who turns a year older today. The same goes to Diosfa Cagigas-Martinez, Marjorie Cagigas, Ena Karganilla-Krijger, and Glenn Gandiongco.

Tomorrow’s greetings go to my cousin and former F-1 columnist Anton Pages, Lyn Trixy Villegas, Navy officer and fellow Sambisig Cdr. Carlo Lagasca, and Gracie Aguilar-Martinez.

Congratulations to the graduates, most especially my cousin Jose Carlos Q. Miranda, who also earned a bronze medal from the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit Elementary Department.

More power to all of you!