AS SEEN ON TV
Wanted President
Can you believe it? Almost a hundred people want to run for president of the Philippines. This could mean that the position is as lucrative as any get-rich-quick scheme (better than networking and theft) that a lot of our brethren are enticed to give it a shot.
This could also show that our country is yearning for that elusive, ‘closer to perfect’ leader that even those who have no track record in leading anything (not even their own families or personal lives) and could not even pull off the class presidency in high school are now pushing their luck at the Philippine presidency like they’re just test-driving a car.
Last week Comelec offices all over the country were like Lotto ticket outlets as candidates lined up for the highly romanticized presidential race. The deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy was a freak show to say the least. Aspirants in various degrees of lunacy showed up at Comelec offices nationwide where they filled out forms and affixed their pictures on the much coveted COC for RP president and other major elective positions in the land. It must have been tiresome for the poll body to be entertaining anyone and everyone who thinks he could make a difference in this country. Comelec had to oblige if only to prove that some of the democratic processes in this nation are still alive.
Why do people hotly pursue the presidency or any elective position for that matter?
The mounting disappointments over the country’s present leaders whose reputations are tainted by corruption, deceit and greed have narrowed the people’s options to—- themselves. The quest for a new face and a new name in politics sent people scouring the unlikeliest institutions such as churches, the left and right wings, and even the seditious sectors of society in search of leaders who are anything but the ones currently running the country.
It’s hard to trust a candidate these days. A good IQ and an answer to life’s questions expressed in fluid speech may not be enough to convince voters that he is THE MAN. The more essential attributes such as character and integrity are harder to find in today’s current and aspiring leaders, hence leaving a voter the grueling task of choosing his future ruler with very little basis. Except for the major candidates whose track records, alliances, mettle and dirty laundry are public knowledge, there’s little room to background check candidates who just came out of nowhere. Who are these people? Really, a crystal ball’s guess is as good as anyone else’s.
The shortage of in good leaders is such that even those who are only qualified to live in a mental institution are offering their services to the people. Self-labeled as “messiahs” to ease the suffering of the nation, they have so far succeeded in providing relief of the comic nature.
The Comelec says only about a quarter of the 99 presidentiables will be deemed running a serious campaign hence the rest shall be dismissed as irritants. By the way, the seriousness of a campaign is also debatable as who’s to say who’s kidding? Even nuisance candidate Ely Pamatong thinks his 2004 spike campaign which damaged a thousand car tires was a serious first step towards a better nation.
Anyway, other presidential aspirants who are not necessarily nuisance candidates are also running with a campaign-chestful of nothing but guts. Some candidates even claim to heed a heavenly calling to serve in a land run by evil and polluters— as they use the name of God or Mother Nature in vain. These presidentiable preachers and environmentalists are the most vulnerable to fraud. And it works to a disadvantage that they do enjoy quite a following (albeit cult) which in the grander scheme of things would just split the votes with other unwinnable presidential hopefuls and give the stronger candidates with solid supporters (and a comprehensive cheating strategy) a comfy lead.
To a point, the stronger presidential candidates welcome these complications. But among the crop of about 10 serious, established and major presidential candidates, half could still be considered nuisance. I mean, do these mayors and senators seriously think they could win in a presidential election when they’re relatively unknown outside their respective turfs?
And then there are the really stronger candidates running for president backed by their well-oiled parties, financiers and showbiz sympathizers. These have made a year-long head start in the campaign by clinching, maneuvering and buying their respective parties’ nominations, investing on a massive advertising campaign of blockbuster proportions, getting hitched to celebrities or enticing showbiz connections to endorse them like bars of soap. These candidates will most likely slug it out in the end using purchasing power, fire power and star power.
So who’s your bet? The 2010 presidential elections may be one rare instance in life where too many choices, could be a bad thing.
