Graduates of 2004

The cynics among us who paint a gloomy picture of our country whatever is the outcome of the coming May 10, 2004 election should attend one of those high school graduations going on in various schools at this time.

I was lucky to attend one last March 24, 2004 when I was invited by Ambassador Preciosa S. Soliven, UNESCO National Commission Secretary General, as the speaker in the 18th Commencement exercises of the OB Montessori Professional High School. And believe me, I got so carried away by the sparkle in the eyes of the young boys and girls getting their medals and diplomas, with their radiant faces reflecting simple joy and exhilarating hope. For a moment, I felt transplanted to another prosperous land of happy and carefree people. It was really so uplifting to realize and see in these young graduates the child- like confidence and trust in the future amidst the present hardships and doomsday scenarios being depicted by the pessimists and skeptics all around. I saw in them what God refers to as the "children" we should become in order to enter His kingdom.

The graduation at OB Montessori was truly a "commencement exercise". From what I gathered, the graduates were not only academically armed but also trained early in other practical aspects of life that prepared them to commence or embark on a higher course where they will be exposed to the realities of this sometimes cruel world. I learned that this is one, if not the only school with an innovated curriculum that includes a law subject dealing on human rights from birth to death particularly with regards to their relations in the family, with the other individuals and with the community. According to Ambassador Soliven, the students even underwent a practicum on marriage and the husband-wife relations including the steps on how to get married legally and to cope with the early years of marriage.

Since their graduation falls on an election year in our country, my message centered on one of the human rights they learned which is the political right to vote or to choose persons for political offices. And I chose to write about this message because I believe it is applicable to the rest of the voting population.

While the right to vote is a privilege granted by law which may or may not be exercised, it is the social responsibility of every qualified voter to exercise this right in the proper and correct way. As citizens of this Republic given the privilege to vote, we have the moral obligation not to misuse or abuse it. Failing to exercise our right to vote without valid reasons or misusing it may even be considered a "social sin".

The most common practices in the misuse of this right before, during and after elections have been due mainly to the continued use of the proverbial guns, goons and gold by those running for office, although the guns and the goons have now been replaced by an elaborate and well-oiled political machinery that continues to perpetrate vote buying, vote selling, fraud and other forms of subtle coercion.

After the people power revolution in 1986 that saw the emergence of a free wheeling and assertive press, a new phenomenon has been added to our politics that tends to further corrupt our electoral process as a means of choosing only the best and most qualified public officials. The cinema, radio, TV and the print media have radically changed the political landscape by centering on the personal popularity of candidates more than on their qualifications for the positions. Candidates with higher name recall rather than with solid platforms and lofty principles have more media mileage. This is very evident in the current situation where there are more headlines about the persons of the candidates than in their programs of government.

The challenge to the graduates which belong to the youth sector of 18 years and above, comprising almost 40 percent of the voting population, and the rest of us who should participate in the coming elections is to choose only the candidates "inspired and guided by the spirit of public service, imbued with the love of God, country and people and of preference for the poor", and whose objectives are the "pursuit of the common good and the defense and promotion of justice for all" If celebrities are among these candidates, then they also deserve our votes.

Let us not fail the graduates of 2004.