Your choice is as good as mine

Too many negatives have been said about the candidates for 2004. Perhaps it’s time for us to look at the good side, anyway it’s Christmas. After all, we don’t have much of a choice, so to speak. Elections are on for next year and we need to choose a leader, no matter what, good or bad. For sure, there will be more mudslinging come January.

Of the four candidates for the May elections, GMA is probably the most prepared when it comes to experience. She has the distinct advantage of running for president, being an incumbent. This provides a lot of pluses for her in terms of machinery and resources. Many can attest to how hard she works and the energy she spends in a day. I am told she wakes up early in the morning, attends regular daily Mass at 6:30 am, and keeps a very tight schedule until late in the evening. No one doubts that GMA is an accomplished woman. As a student of economics, GMA was outstanding. Her diligence was best displayed when she graduated magna cum laude at Assumption and earned her doctorate at UP. Her knowledge of economics landed her first as undersecretary of the Department Trade and Industry. Everyone’s aware that as senator, she filed a number of laws that restructured the country’s economy. During Erap’s term, she got a landslide vote as Vice-President and was appointed Secretary of Social Welfare. But at the end of the day, the public will have to judge her performance as president over the past two years. The question is: are things better today than before she became president? GMA needs to stand by her track record. And this she must communicate clearly to the public, especially to the grassroots where most of the votes will be coming from.

Raul Roco – no one doubts the intelligence of this man – is another magna cum laude like GMA. He’s a lawyer by profession, and as they say, a very successful one. He was the youngest to ever hold the title as President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He started his career in government as a congressman, until he became Secretary of Education. This is where his career got a good head start. The "Study Now, Pay Later" Law was actually Roco’s brainchild. Good education, we all know, is the key to alleviating the growing poverty. The biggest problem of this country is that we have too many people with very little education. Those who have any kind of education at all are either out of the country or doing something else. With good education, the country can lift a majority of the poor to become part of a stronger middle class. I really don’t know how he will be able to pull it off, but his intention to provide free education to the Filipino youth is truly worth its weight in gold. This is probably why he is so popular with students, aside of course from his bright and colorful Hawaiian shirts. Hopefully, his stand on population will be along the lines of Sen. Biazon, a firm advocate of population control. That, for me, is the single biggest issue to tackle if we were to seriously address the long-term problem of the country. As senator, Raul Roco drafted laws that protect the rights of overseas Filipino workers, public school teachers, and abused women. He got so good at this, he was even given the honor of being an "Honorary Woman." No doubt, Roco has a lot of other good ideas up his sleeve, but it’s his HOPE program that fully expresses what he stands for. But he has to clearly communicate this to the voting public.

Because of the recent crime wave and spate of kidnappings, many people are saying we probably need a Ping Lacson as President next year. I really can’t blame them because there is absolutely no one that is exempted from fear, whether rich or poor. Criminals, and ironically perhaps, even the public, fear Ping Lacson. However, I don’t know the plan of the opposition now that there’s a split between FPJ and Ping Lacson. If this pushes through, this would probably be good for GMA’s candidacy. Ping’s slogan ’Wag matakot, stop kurakot!’ sounds good, but can he really pull it off? We don’t know. But definitely, there’s a large Filipino-Chinese community that truly believes in Lacson’s ability to curb crime. During his watch as Chief PNP, it was reported that kidnappings were less. As a presidentiable, this other "Clint Eastwood" is probably the most prepared in terms of having a platform. He has put together, as early as a year ago, a team of the best minds in the country to set his policy on major issues, such as population management, education, economic recovery, etc. These he must communicate to the masses in very clear terms.

Of course, the candidate everyone from the ABCDE bracket is talking about is Fernando Poe Jr. Here’s a fellow who has not said very much since he declared his candidacy, yet he is already being questioned regarding his citizenship, his educational background, accomplishments, if any. Maybe, "no talk, no mistake" will work for him. That’s why the more his critics put him down, the more FPJ becomes popular. Case in point, our drivers in the office are all for FPJ, and no one, not even the boss, can argue against it. This is validated by the recent SWS survey. But even that is being questioned since the head of SWS is the first cousin of FPJ. The good side is that FPJ is the single candidate that can convince the masa that things will go their way if he wins. This may just buy us some time because if FPJ becomes president, it would ease the growing desperation and pent-up emotions of the poor, much like what Erap was supposed to do, but that’s history now. That’s why FPJ is being called the "unity" candidate, the one that will introduce changes. The change FPJ stands for is a change in the system of government – whether federal or parliamentary, it is not yet clear. It is said that if he wins, FPJ will call for a constituent assembly within his first 100 days, and he is prepared to relinquish power and remain as a ceremonial president. This change might just be the silver lining in FPJ’s candidacy. Noli de Castro is another popular fellow that might decide to run. They say he is even more popular than FPJ because everyday he comes out on TV here and abroad through ABS-CBN’s Filipino Channel. Let’s face it, we can play dumb or bury our heads in the sand, but reality tells us that the coming election is really a popularity contest because the present system allows it to be so. Perhaps, a change is really necessary. For both FPJ and Noli, it is easy for them to communicate to the public because their credibility, especially with the poor, is extremely high. Credibility is the most important part in running for president. As the great communicator Ronald Reagan once said, "The easy part is running for office; the hard part is communicating your program and making people believe it."

But for many who may not be excited about next year’s elections, here’s something to hope for. In a recent economic forum held in Hong Kong, it was pointed out that the Philippines, being the center of Asia geographically, is sitting on "prime real estate". They predicted that in the coming decade, Asia will be the most prosperous region in the world, and China will propel it. By sheer location alone, the Philippines is expected to ride on that phenomenal prosperity. Whoever is elected president, at the very least, there is that hope. Come what may, your choice is as good as mine.

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