The crocodile in position

Last weekend, me and my friends took a trip to the safari located at Carmen, northern Cebu. It was a rather long ride. More than 20 kilometers from our residence plus about 10 more from the highway, it was really not an easy trip. At the gates you are greeted by a world-class facade that reminds me so much of the time I spent in Singapore. The journey inside was not easy as it was not for the faint of heart. It required a lot of walking, basking under the heat of the sun and extreme patience while waiting for one's turn.

I personally loved the bird show but paid more attention to the crocodiles. It was not my first time to see one, but I was somehow reminded once again of how these animals are being likened to the politicians. Crocodile or in Cebuano "buwaya" is an idiom used to pertain to a person who wants it all. The reptile positions itself near its potential prey with an open month and does nothing. It waits for the right timing that the prey would fall in and the crocodile would eat it in one gulp.

As the elections near, we are faced with a lot of choices in terms of candidates running for the position. However, we do not know which one is the buwaya. We are unaware at this stage if the beautiful or handsome face on the poster has a pure heart with good intentions to run the government. Otherwise, we will be faced with governance that is negative financially with poor response to the needs of the constituents.

In one of my trips with my friends, one asked the difference between the crab and the crocodile in terms of personality as described by humans. I couldn't help but realize that Filipinos have the tendency to be both. We want to pull each other down by whatever means because we want to have it all. This may sound so negative, but these traits are innate with us because of the culture that we grew up in. This is also not stranger to those who are in position. Whether they would admit it or not, those who want a seat so bad would do anything in their position to get it.

And so we are tasked with the most difficult choice such as making sure that those who get duly elected deserve the post. At this point, we are judging them based on their achievements and track record. Although it could say a lot but it cannot foresee how one person would change because of power. The responsibility in operating a local government unit is rather tedious and demanding that they often forget their promises to their constituents.

We do not want to have crocodiles in our system where they extort everything that we have, be it finances or resources. Again, we deserve more than what is required as there are many sectors to work on. God bless this country.