This week, Filipino voters will participate in one of the most high-stakes games in our country's history.
Why "high-stakes"? Simple: Because our future depends on who we will choose as our leader — on the national and local front — for the next three to six years.
And the actions that the leaders we will choose will set the ball rolling on the next chapter of the Philippines' history. Not just for the next six years, but for all future generations.
Perhaps this is why in past weeks, our youth had been involved in the campaign process as never before seen in our country's history.
Risking their own lives — both in the context of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and the usual volatile nature of Philippine politics — many young people have campaigned for their own chosen candidates with a fervor unheard of in previous elections.
Perhaps this is because one vital lesson we have gained from the two-year pandemic has galvanized us into action: that the leaders we choose will determine how we can survive from the local and global crisis that we are facing today.
One vital question in the minds of every Filipino right now is: After elections, will that energy that many of us has displayed during the campaign remain? Will our youth continue battling for their future and their descendants' future? Or will we become once again complacent, docile watchers and followers who can’t be bothered to become involved in public issues?
Whoever wins on May 9, let’s continue to become active participants — and not mere onlookers — in governance. Let’s continue to produce that drive for change that many of us had demonstrated.
Our country’s destiny does not stop with the elections. This is not the end — it’s the beginning of yet another chapter in the Philippines’ history. And we all have a say on what future historians will write about us.
Public participation in government affairs is not just our right, not just our privilege, but also our duty as a citizen. Let’s take advantage of that and continue to push for a government that will uphold the welfare above all other considerations.