A Call to the Filipino people

The 2016 Philippine Election is fast approaching. And whether we like it or not, we’ll have to make a decision – that imperative choice. We are not to only elect national leaders, but also local leaders.

In as much as we are trying to assess our Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and Senatorial Candidates, we must also exercise the same diligence in assessing our local candidates. This election has become berserk with all the bamboozling articles we read online, the news we see on national and local television, and the half-truths we read on paper. It is almost tearing this nation apart.

The call now for every Filipino is not just to exercise the right to vote but to also exercise due attitude towards our fellow voters. The Philippine social media has become a circus. It has become an open spree of profanity and slander. I would want to believe that we are more than what we are projecting now in this election.

So due attitude, kindly please add that back in our dictionary as Filipinos. We have forgotten to act accordingly, in the same way the Presidential candidates have been slowly showing their true selves as the Election Day approaches. We have forgotten the words respect and even the word Filipino. Sometimes, I ask myself, what is it to be Filipino?

I no longer know, actually.

But as a voter this coming election, I will not tell you to vote my candidate. I will not even tell you that your candidate sucks. I will simply tell you to please not sell yourself. By selling your vote, you are selling your dignity. I am not familiar whether or not all candidates are buying votes but if caught in that situation, I suggest you just take the money and make good business out of the candidates who are messing up this country. I would have wanted to tell you not to take the money, but if you won’t be smart enough to take that, someone who is easily swayed by such candidates, will.

May 09, 2016, is more or less two weeks from now. Let us not use that time to bombard other supporters with hurtful words. By doing that, we are not in any way helping in the progress of this country.

So what if your friend or a stranger has a candidate different from yours, let them be. They have the right to that opinion, in the same way as you. You voting for your candidate don’t mean you are on the right track. Do not lament over Facebook how your friends and the people in your feeds do not think critically and are being blinded by their candidates. This election doesn’t give anyone the right to look down on other people and lambast them on social media.

The media has continued to feed us with truth, half-truth and fallacy. We are at the point always of judging a candidate, even a supporter, by the first words we read or the first post we see from a supporter. We are all stricken by our emotions and our desire to be right. We are very much competitive in social media that we do not want to step back and see first the picture.

This election only gives us the right to vote, but not the right to attack other boats. We will know who will win once we reach the shores. But now, let’s go on sailing, without throwing garbage into the sea or throwing bows and arrows at people we see.

And once we reach the most awaited date and a President has been elected, let us give support to him or her. If it’s Mar Roxas, let us pray he’ll aim for Daang Matuwid and continue working on the growth of the economy, as he says. If he’s Rodrigo Duterte, then let us pray he won’t abuse his power and he’ll exercise diligence in his pursuit for drugs and crimes, as he claims. If it’s Miriam Santiago, let us pray for good health and her continued passion and commitment to honest governance. If it’s Jejomar Binay, let us pray that he delivers in accordance with his promises. If she’s Grace Poe, let us pray she’ll perform well as President despite her being a rookie.

Be it anyone among the candidates, let us support them. This is not a one-man show. I may want to call this, a performance of a lifetime, wherein each one is expected to give his/her best shot. Our leaders cannot do this alone. Let us not leave it up to them after May 09, 2016.

Our lives don’t end after this election. We must always endeavour to be responsible citizens of this nation and of our respective communities.

We are Filipinos. We are more than all the nasty things we read and see nowadays. We can always be better than who we are now.

Prayers for the 2016 PH Election

The 2016 Philippine Election has become a sort of circus where everyone is just running around, trying to catch all the rides.

It has become an evident jumping of boats from one to another when one notices that the boat is sinking. Celebrities benefit from the election by promoting their candidates and supporters of these candidates recognize them and their opinions for that matter. Other politicians also benefit by way of endorsement by candidates leading the surveys.

But what is really the purpose of this election? I believe that aside from electing leaders, the aim is to unite the Filipinos.

But will we achieve this after May 09, 2016?

Social Media has already become a panorama of a divided nation; a reflection of the dark side of each Presidential supporter - be it Binay, Duterte, Poe, Roxas or Santiago. It has become an ugly exchange of opinion and profanity just because one's opinion differ from the other. We, ourselves, have become the exact opposite of a role model in the way we talk and in the way we judge others by their way of thinking.

So what is needed now?

Prayers. We have been consumed by all our so-called right opinions with media also making good money out of this election. We have forgotten that amidst all the ugly exchange of profanity, we are brothers and sisters. We resort to calling one another "Marimar, Dutertard, Poetic, Binayaran, etc."

This nation will not progress in the way we envisioned it to be if we, as one nation, do not support the next President who may or may not be our selected candidate. A lot says, change should come from each and every one of us. I don't see anything like it in this campaign period. We are continuously hurting each other's feelings as if all there ever is in our life is election.

I myself have been spending a lot of time browsing the internet, reading and constantly reading, trying to also defend my candidate. But at the end of it all, what?

Whatever the reason we have for choosing a candidate, we must bear in mind that each registered Filipino voter is entitled to his/her opinion. But let's not cross borderlines by hurting each other's feelings.

If words could kill, a lot have died already in this upcoming election. I could have died already with what my friends told me. They could have died too with all the things I posted online.

So prayers. More than anything, this country needs a great amount of prayer. Let us pray for an honest and peaceful election. Social media is already a riot. Let's not add to much chaos on the day of the election.

And if a President and other leaders are already elected, support. This nation will continue to fall apart if we do not accept that Mar or Poe or Digong or Miriam or Binay has won in an honest election.

Let's give the needed support of our national and local leaders. For once, let us show that we are capable of being just social media bashers; entertaining everyone with memes, etc. For once, let us accept, that this nation is not only made of politicians who we accuse all to be corrupt, but this nation is also made up of citizens who try to squeeze their way out of the law when caught by a traffic enforcer or paying extra to a person in the City Hall or LTO just so we won't wait long to get our permits.

We are, in our own versions, also dishonest citizens. Let us not put the blame solely on our leaders. We take part in all the mess this country is going through.

So prayers. Let's pray even after the election.

For now, let's altogether pray for the election on May 09, 2016.