Time to change

When I put up the group Stop Corruption Philippines on Facebook, I was sick and tired of the corruption going on in the country. I invited friends from the media, local and national politics, and the police, as well as doctors, nurses, fashion designers, businessmen, students, immigrants, overseas Filipino workers, retirees, and foreigners who love our country and have decided to live here for good. I knew they shared the frustration and the intense desire to combat the social malady that has been afflicting our country for so many years.

On May 13 we will again elect a new set of local and national leaders with the hope that our country will improve significantly under their leadership. Unfortunately, a lot of those who say they will make our lives better are the same people who have made a career on empty promises. Are we to elect them again, or the family members to whom they’ve passed the torch of ineptitude? What have we gotten out of electing someone with a familiar surname? Often, nothing.

I have nothing against those who have proven themselves worthy of being nominated again and whose parents’ legacy is beyond reproach. I think of Jun Magsaysay, Dick Gordon, and Koko Pimentel, and I will not hesitate to give them another chance. But those who lied and abused their position during their time and whose character is highly questionable do not deserve another chance to serve even at the barangay level.

It is disturbing to see candidates resorting to the most pathetic gimmickry, like fabricating wife-beater stories and having that trash reported in the TV newscasts. Or aspiring for a senatorial seat despite an abysmal lack of experience and armed only with the certainty that because of her father, the Senate is hers for the taking. I was once asked about this candidate: How come she’s been shying away from debates? My reply: She’s Air Force—99-percent air and 1-percent force. (No offense intended to our gallant airmen.)

As Election Day approaches, so many voters are still undecided on whether or not to believe what they see and hear on TV and radio. If you ask me, the campaign ads are all too good to be true.

To my mind, there are simple guidelines in choosing the right candidates. First, if their names “ring a bell,” check the track record of their forebears. They must not be involved in corruption, lies and deceit. On Google, check not just the projects they want to flaunt but also the crimes they want to hide. Why take chances on the children of corrupt officials? Remember that a fruit never falls far from the tree.

Second, if they are new, check also their past. Not all new candidates are good. I remember that one new senatorial candidate lied through his teeth in saying that he had not been expelled from a party-list group, of which he used to be the representative. He even told the host that her statement was untrue. But before the show ended, the TV network aired the actual video clip showing that the candidate had lied. If he could do that on TV, how likely would he lie to the people he is courting for a vote?

Lastly, ensure that the candidates have clear, practical and SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound) programs for us, especially those who have less. If the programs sound like a pie in the sky and too good to be true, then we can safely conclude that they are not true! For instance, a senatorial candidate said he wanted free education for everyone. That sounds good, but the question is why he did not file a bill on free education during his stint as a member of the House of Representatives.

Another candidate promised capital for everyone to jump-start a business. But where will the capital come from? If it will be given free, then the people will no longer be motivated to dream and to work hard. On the contrary, they will be helped to become social parasites, and will always wait for manna to fall from heaven. That’s pathetic. If politicians intend to stamp out poverty, they should not give away fish but teach people how to fish.

Regarding the new breed of politicians, I’d like to see in the Senate JC de los Reyes, Lito David, Dick Penson, Mars Llasos and Samson Alcantara. They may be new and untested, but as I see them, they are not just willing and able candidates but also the lesser evil vis-à-vis the other new ones who seem to have been taught by their parents that absolute power corrupts absolutely. I don’t also go for theocrats, who brandish their faith and declare that God told them to run and be the instruments of change that our country need. For sure, they have become jaded by their eagerness to serve both God and Mammon.

Truly, it’s time to change, and may the change that we envision take us where the Philippines ought to be. It’s time to regain our old glory and the respect of the global community.

Monsi Serrano conducts training and development programs for companies, schools and nongovernment organizations. He was a lecturer in retail management at the College of St. Benilde’s School for Professional and Continuing Education.