Election conversations
Proclamation rallies are delightful and inspiring sometimes but these will not give us good leaders.
These rallies will also not address the fact that the false promises of politicians will hit the poor first, and the uneducated or poorly- educated second.
Other victims would be the 51 percent of Filipinos who reportedly have difficulty spotting ‘fake news’.
National candidates barely have time to talk to everyone in the country. But they have representatives and volunteers in the provinces.
Here’s an idea I pitched to an active supporter of a candidate I don’t support: We should organize a webinar where we can share things about our chosen candidates. We can talk about their platforms, track record, what they have done for our Province, and the link. The active supporter said he is open to that idea.
Imagine if schools and student organizations can set up and mobilize many of these webinars, and we can rise above the trolling and hate on social media and have real conversations on our whys. Wouldn’t that be great?
That, after all, is the essence of the traditional house-to-house campaigning, where people talked about their candidates, and not express hate on each other online. We need to go back to our communities, and have real conversations.
I appreciate media outfits that compare the candidates’ positions on matters that are relevant to the Province.
For instance, I watched nervously when Presidential candidates were asked about their views on reclamation.
Vice President Leni Robredo has a clear and effectively nuanced position. Essentially, she said three things: 1) Reclamation is not for everybody; 2) Economic benefits should not prevail over environmental and social costs; 3)Leaders should genuinely consult the people, and listen to the experts.
Leni Robredo is aware how some local government units “engage” only in superficial consultation.
Since we have been sending her briefings, I am confident that Leni Robredo is aware how consultations were virtually ignored in Dumaguete’s proposed 174-hectare reclamation project. I am happy the position of Leni Robredo is clear on this reclamation issue.
I had read somewhere before that the middle class is mostly to blame for bad leadership in the Philippines. The article said the middle class is not too enthusiastic nor passionate about registering to vote, and that many of us actually don’t care about elections because we think that whoever wins won’t affect us significantly.
But now we all realize that this election is different. We can feel it. We have to care about the consequences, and so we have to stand up, talk with each other intelligently, and vote for competent and honest leaders.
____________________________________
Author’s email: [email protected]
