"Open for business"

According to old timers, in the 1940s and 50s running for public office was such a sacred trust that it would normally be the voters or members of the community who would ask a respected professional or community leader to be a candidate or run for public office. The responsibility was so great that it usually took a long time to convince a person to run in an election.

Unlike today, people were less worried about campaign funds but more about being able to get the job down or live up to the community’s expectations. In a time where little technology was available, much of public service was face-to-face and extremely personal.

Back then, voters placed a premium on education, character, and competency because the performance of an elected official seriously reflected on his supporters, political party and even his town or province. Everything was a matter of pride and integrity. The last thing voters wanted to hear was that they elected an idiot into public office.

Looking at some campaign materials from the past, one catches a glimpse of how different things were. Opponents talked about patriotism, loyalty and competence. Today they talk about surveys, endorsers, and good looks. In the old days they focused on progress and public service, nowadays they do their best to be seen at impeachment trials, to be interviewed on radio and TV shows and will move heaven and earth to get space on print media.

Last Sunday, my brother Mike asked if an elderly politician was really serious about running once again for public office? Based on current standards, the subject was doing all the right moves. He attends all the social events, made himself curiously visible during the impeachment and has been very accessible to media to share his opinions.

In spite of all of that I told my brother that the elderly politician was not a serious candidate as far as I am concerned. Yes he was doing all the “politically correct” moves, but given the limited senatorial seats available, given the number of stronger re-electionist, and the fact that the elderly politician has been out of the arena for sometime, chances are the subject was merely building himself up so he can open for business along the lines of “fund raising.”

At a time when good and sincere public servants are an endangered species, we also have to be wary of “fund raisers” who act like they are running for public office but are actually planning to runaway with campaign contributions.

Not only is the business about raising funds from supporters and investors, some veteran politicians as well as celebrities have been known to mount a decent or serious campaign for the purpose of becoming a threat to real contenders.

I know of several cases where a so-called candidate would stay in the race just long enough to make life scary for the competition and then sell out for millions of pesos. In one province, the sitting governor eventually paid a contender around P5 million on top of the reimbursement made for campaign expenses. In the case of a vice presidential nominee, the party had to fork up P50 million for the guy to slide down to the senatorial slate.

Yes, the imitation candidates are open for business and they are opening at a location near you!

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When our daughter came home after her first day at school, my wife Karen asked: “So, was everyone excited to see each other after vacation?” I presumed the answer would be a “Yes” but instead, our daughter replied “No, not really. We’re all on Facebook.”

That simple statement from an 11 year old is very telling of how the Internet has affected our social life and what the next generation will demand in terms of how business operates. After spending a whole week travelling all over Ilocos, I observed that 75% of all the tourists we encountered carried lap tops, Ipads, “tablets” and smart phones. 

All of them converged at “Wi-Fi” zones at hotels, resorts and coffee shops and if the place they happen to stay at had no inter-net service, the travellers would go out of their way to explain to the management that if they want people to promote their place, they would have to provide internet service.

As we drove from place to place, having access to Google map via our iPhone was such a big help in terms of estimating distances, calculating speed, and double-checking certain locations. So if you’re in the process of setting up business just make sure you are connected on the web and provide Internet service to your customer or you may end up losing more than you hoped to save or bargain for.