Like thousands of Filipinos who volunteered their time, resources and talents to the campaign/movement aroused by Vice President Leni Robredo’s virtues of humility, hardwork, dedicated service to the underprivileged, transparency and love of God, I too bleed deeply for the loss that she suffered from a defective mechanical- cum-manual polls last May 9 that miraculously produced instant results to be counted, even while many polling precincts were still having long queues of people waiting to vote past the allotted voting hours.
And being a Catholic whose choice of who to vote was based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Ten Commandments, I join our Catholic Church in feeling sorry that a lot more people (I would like to believe that it was they and not the pre-shaded or tampered ballots that vote counting machines produced long before our elections opened) did not search God for enlightenment and discernment.
The youth—many of them first-time voters—also felt dishonored—some by their relatives and kins/ friends and classmates for their choice—while others who volunteered their all are gravely saddened and disillusioned by the reality that not everyone thinks like them.
One thing is certain—this election has shown us that many of our countrymen desire for a leader that is morally wanting (both in the past and present). After six years of a “killing, cursing and cussing” president we still choose to have more of the same by choosing the only son of a dictator—whose regime saw massive tortures and killings and desapericidos, massive plunder of our coffers and our natural resources (given to the dictator’s cronies) and revising history to make it appear like those 20 plus years under the dictator’s rule were “golden years.” We also had a lot of intellectual and academic dishonesty and disregard for honest payment of taxes, especially estate taxes. We see a fugitive from the US laws and one who would continue to deny us of a moral leadership.
The super special treatment given him by the sitting president--- the alleged PSG guards even if he isn’t the president-elect yet and his flying via jet back to Manila to witness the counting-- is a picture of entitlement that we should expect from a ruling autocrat.
By contrast we see a virtuous and humble woman who fell in line to vote and drove her daughters around town to thank the people, a pretty sight to be proud of.
How can we explain that virtues and credentials are not necessary to become the topnotcher for senatorial candidates—except to be popular and a celebrity as Robin Padilla did—making a waste of academic achievements and skills/knowledge as the most important criteria for a legislator.
Many of those that made it to the Senate and House slates were charged with plunder and other crimes and sought to perpetuate themselves supposedly to serve our country (but really just to fatten their wealth some more).
Dynastic rule will certainly prevail even after their terms have been served, and the Philippines will only see a few names in its entire history, from hereon, unless some drastic changes are done.
Sad to say but the foreign press had been unkind to us now-- mocking us as a nation of political amnesia—just like they hit us hard during the dark days of Martial Law.
Foreign investors will shy away and some business process outsourcing companies, which considered the Philippines their darling market, will soon be leaving us—even if economic managers and economists will assure them that policies won’t change.
So, we are returning the arrogant and autocratic family back to the palace that they once left (when People Power exiled them to Hawaii) and rest assure this coming administration will live in that palace for their entire lifetimes by subverting our Constitution and everything we hold dear.
On this note, I resignedly say c’est la vie. Don’t complain if things don’t turn out rosy like you were told.