“The Boss,” choose your candidates wisely

The election campaign for the local candidates for Governor, Vice-Governor, Provincial Board members, City and Municipal Mayors, Vice-Mayor and Councilors is finally underway and I would like to see and hear debates from these aspiring candidates for us to find out who can make things better for our beloved Province and Metro Cities of Cebu. Right now, I have not yet heard of any forum that promises to bring out who amongst those running for local posts deserve our votes… whom Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, III has tagged as “His Boss”.

Twenty-seven years after the EDSA Revolution, this nation has been put to grips by the usual political patronage, which in the end has only created political dynasties that people are starting now waking up to abhor their existence. This is not to say that all political dynasties are bad… because there are candidates who belong to political dynasties that deserve our votes.

But sad to say, these people are in the minority while the majority of the candidates from political dynasties are running because these people believe that it is their “God-given” right to serve the people… in vain of course. The truth of the matter is, these people are in politics because they look at it as a family business… where elective positions can be handed down from generation to generation like a family heirloom.

It is for this reason why I've been seeking a genuine political reform that would remove all the vestiges of dynasties. So it is time to ask… who amongst the congressional candidates would sign a covenant under pain of excommunication that if they get elected into Congress… they would pass a bill to remove the pork barrel? If any candidate gives me a positive response to my challenge, I will feature him in this column… so he gets a free advertisement. Why am I doing this? It is due to the fact that I'm saddened that while the Philippines seem to be progressing economically, our politics is still a politics of destruction and therefore a stumbling block to our development.

We just came from the season of Lent and Holy Week and we learned much about Servant Leadership. This teaching isn't new as it was taught by our Lord Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Yet despite this teaching, even the church hierarchy has failed in embracing what true Servant Leadership is all about. This is why the whole Christendom hailed the election of Pope Francis because for the first time in decades… we have a Pope who is willing to lead by example… and not by words.

This is why many of our priests and bishops suddenly feel so uncomfortable driving their BMWs even if they won it in a raffle. Clearly, these members of the clergy have not learned to “surrender” their lives to the Lord, pick up their cross and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

The same thing is true to our present political leadership. A case in point is our own PNoy who, in so many speeches, gave the Filipino people credit by calling all of us his "Boss". But these are nothing but rhetoric from a President who has only proven to us that he doesn't mean the things he says. In short, he is not far and distant from the deposed and convicted ex-Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada who during his inauguration declared, “Walang Kaibigan, Walang Kamaganak” but walang nang yari!

At this point, I would like all Cebuanos to choose wisely who would be the better political leaders for Cebu that we should be voting for. At this point, I will still keep my cards close to my chest as to who I will be voting for in the local elections, but in due time, I will reveal my candidates. But in the meantime, may I suggest that we pose questions that we ought to ask each and every single candidate who might come knocking on your street, your sitio, your barrio or even your own house.

First of all… always ask about track records… what have these candidates done for their country in the past? If they came from the private sector, whether their company had some kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects helping out the poor and the needy? Secondly, find out who are the visionaries in that line up. In my book, a visionary is one who can talk about his dreams that he can achieve through politics. The dream of holding charter changes and removing the hated Pork Barrel is a good start.

Make sure that when a candidate tells you about his or her dreams; that you are able to discern whether this dream has some kind of ulterior motive lurking within that dream? For instance, if the candidate has a building or infrastructure project, it can be a source of corruption for that politician… if you know what I mean. Above all, you should ask for their timetables. If they tell you that they will widen this or that street, make sure that they will tell you the year it will be constructed and finished. More importantly, ask the candidate if they are pro-life or pro-condom or pro-abortion. Are they for or against the church? Catholic voters want to know.

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