EDITORIAL - On with the show

A motion is expected to be filed within 10 days, asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision that allowed actor Fernando Poe Jr. to pursue his bid for the presidency. But that’s just going through the motions of exhausting all legal remedies in this case. With a vote of 8-5, the high tribunal is unlikely to reverse its stand on a case as controversial as the qualification of Poe to seek the presidency.

With Poe now safely in the race, and with the Supreme Court handing down jurisprudence on the definition of a natural-born citizen, the nation can turn its attention to other pressing matters. With one distraction out of the way, Filipinos can take a closer look at the presidential candidates, finding out, for example, how they intend to deal with the yawning fiscal deficit and the nation’s massive foreign debt.

What’s their stand on capital pu-nishment, family planning and wo-men’s reproductive health? These are issues that won’t go away until after election day, when candidates no longer have to worry about incurring the ire of the Catholic Church. Panfilo Lacson has vowed to implement the death penalty and an aggressive fa-mily planning program while Poe has said he is against capital punishment.

Even if a debate among all the presidential aspirants does not materialize, the candidates must disclose their plans, for example, about the NAIA terminal 3 and how to lure back investments that fled the country because of that mess. The nation must know what the candidates intend to do to prevent another crisis in the power sector, which experts say could strike in as little as four years. Candidates must bare their stand on lifting constitutional limits on foreign ownership of businesses and assets, and whether they favor constitutional amendments at all. They must give the nation a ge-neral idea of how they intend to reverse the rapid deterioration of the quality of education and English proficiency in the public school system.

The nation has daunting problems and the electorate must make informed choices come election day. The Supreme Court ruling has eliminated much of the uncertainty that has bugged this campaign. Now it’s on with the show, and voters must be given a clear picture of every candidate’s program of government.