Running for president is not a walk in the park  

Look at the 10 aspirants for the presidency. Scrutinize their credentials and competencies. Some of your office managers may be better qualified than many of them. Why are they running at all? When we choose a president or a governor, or for that matter, a city or municipal mayor, we should not limit ourselves to the qualifications, which are merely about citizenship, age, residency, being a registered voter, and the barest minimum of knowing how to read and write. We should demand for track record and credentials.

Let us talk about credentials. If I were Jessica Soho or Boy Abunda, I would, first of all, ask: Where did you graduate and what degree have you obtained? May I see your true and authentic credentials? Do you know that as president, you will be meeting US President Joe Biden, China President Xi Jinping, or Russia President Vladimir Putin? What do you know about international law and foreign affairs? Have you read and understood the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Are you familiar with national security and military science? Remember, you want to be the commander-in-chief of all armed forces.

Do you have a diploma in law, political science, economics, and history, not to mention a doctorate or just a master’s degree? What do you know about parliamentary procedures? You are not applying to work as a clerk; you want to be the head of state and head of government. What do you know about the Philippines' global competitive indices, about our trade relations, our imports and exports? Have you had any knowledge of globalized trade and the world economy? Do you know that we have ?11.9 trillion in national debt? How do you intend to pay it?

About your track record, what significant achievements can be attributed to you given the many years you have been in public service? In Congress, what essential laws have you authored and successfully passed? What honors have you brought to our country and people? Have you ever been awarded for your public service? Have you ever had any problem with drugs, with your SALN, with your income tax returns? Have you ever been accused, prosecuted, and convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude? How about your personal and family life? Are you clean as a whistle, or do you have skeletons in your closet?

Beyond all these, what are your master plans? How will you solve poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, and the insurgency? How can you unite all the factions, the regions, the clans and tribes, and all the 111 million Filipinos? How will you solve the rampant corruption in the government? How will you position our foreign policies vis-a-vis the West Philippine Sea? How will you deal with China, Russia, and the USA? What is your policy about Philippine labor migration? Will you continue to push our talents to go abroad and become OFWs? Which is more important to you, the billions of remittances or the sanctity of marriages and family?

What is your stand on human rights, extra-judicial killings, the death penalty, divorce, birth control, same-sex marriage, medicinal marijuana, abortion, the peace talks, terrorism, the Bangsa Moro issue, and the anti-terror law? How will you choose your Cabinet member, the justices of the Supreme Court, and all other magistrates? What will be your attitude towards the opposition, the rebels, terrorists, drug lords, and substance abusers?