Today is election day for us Filipinos as we choose our new or reelect our local government officials, our representatives in the House and half or 12 senators in the Senate.
As with all our previous elections, the advice is always to vote wisely.
But this time around perhaps we should follow the example of the thought process of the 133 cardinals in choosing Pope Leo XIV.
Before the papal conclave convened for the election of the next Catholic leader following the death of Pope Francis, the run-up to the historic voting played out very much like a political fight with the likely candidates and favorites all being scrutinized and analyzed for their qualifications, strengths, weaknesses, likability and popularity. And just like all partisan voting, the 133 cardinals were most likely also seriously checking their loyalties and preferences.
Of course, following the fictional Conclave movie, the public and hence the media began to focus more on this year’s election for a new pope. The Vatican surprisingly agreed to be more transparent and allowed more media coverage of the papal conclave proceedings up until the 133 cardinals took their oath of secrecy just before closing the doors of the Sistine Chapel and beginning the secret voting.
According to historical records, the longest papal conclave lasted for nearly three years from 1268 to 1271 following the death of Pope Clement IV. Fortunately, following that record-breaking event, the new pope, Pope Gregory X, introduced more stringent rules to avoid another lengthy process for the election of a new leader for the Catholic Church.
The shortest papal conclave, in turn, was in October 1503, lasting only a couple of hours following the death of Pope Pius III, whose papacy was also the shortest at 26 days or barely a month.
In the election of Pope Francis, the papal conclave took only two days and similarly, the conclave that chose Pope Leo XIV took about the same length of time.
What makes the choice of Pope Leo XIV significant for me however, and perhaps was also the same sentiment carried over from the papal conclave in the election of Pope Francis, was the overarching desire of the cardinals to value humility, service and selflessness in choosing a new leader who would follow the same path as Pope Francis.
I cite the example of Pope Leo XIV’s conclave to make voters seriously think about their choice – not based merely on popularity, political patronage or handouts but on how the candidates truly intend to serve the country.
It is so disheartening to hear the declarations of some of the leading popular candidates on political vendetta, promises of ayuda or institutionalizing a beggar mentality or pandering to the electorate and just offering them entertainment. According to one candidate, lawmaking is really no longer necessary since there are already enough laws passed and they are not even being implemented.
If that is the belief of some candidates, why are they then running to become legislators? Perhaps they should remain exactly where they are – entertaining people rather than pretending to be legislators, collecting their “pork” and making a game show mockery of the legislative body.
Unfortunately, as some of the legislative aspirants have admitted, the younger generation of voters don’t even really care to hear about the candidates’ platforms. Instead, the political aspirants acknowledge that the way to capture the interest of the voters is to entertain them and thus that is exactly what we are seeing in the list of leading candidates.
But even in one desperate, last-minute appeal, I hope that parents and employers who will bring their household members to the polling booth today will advise their children and household staff to prioritize candidates whose views support education and employment instead of those who offer assurances of ayuda and dole-outs in one form or another, enticing voters to remain dependent on assistance.
We should all remember the quote: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Education and employment are the best assistance for any population. Unfortunately in our country, politicians prefer to fund various assistance or support programs for the poor, the countryside or whatever fancy term they can concoct for an “assistance” package to ensure that whatever monetary allocation is given would emanate from them and ultimately lead to dependence and political patronage.
Please don’t vote for candidates who fool you into thinking that “if you vote for me, I will protect you” because in reality, they are there to protect their own self-interest by keeping the foolish voter dependent on them for ayuda.
Instead, vote for candidates who strongly support education, skills training and employment generation. Yes, it is true that some candidates are there to favor their own businesses but the safeguard is that market forces will still determine the success of any business.
Candidates with business knowledge have a better grasp of how to legislate to make the economy flourish and benefit more people rather than those who want to wage a political vendetta, provide entertainment by mesmerizing voters into valuing glamor and glitter over a solid education or continually make the voters believe that assistance or ayuda is the quickest way to deal with their financial difficulties.
Likewise, be careful with your choice of partylist candidates who really have no platform and are blatantly just there to enjoy the pork barrel benefits or expand their political clan. The partylist system has been so mangled and twisted that it should be abolished for a leaner Congress.
