Who will be the next Philippine president? This can be answered after the 2016 elections—assuming elections are held, votes are counted and civil war does not erupt. Unfortunately, the opposite may not come to pass, given the desperation of so many false leaders.
Will President Aquino’s endorsement help a handpicked candidate or become a kiss of death? P-Noy’s ability to bring victory to the Liberal Party slate remains totally in his hands—if he can return to the “Daang Matuwid” which started well, but somehow turned crooked with the Priority Development Assistance Fund, Disbursement Acceleration Program, Bangsamoro Basic Law and a few other blunders. If he listens to his heart and not the bad advice he keeps getting from his subalterns, he’ll regain his clout.
Will the Commission on Elections do its job? The choice of a new Comelec head points in the right direction—but can’t end there. Manual elections with a transparent vote count by private auditing firms will be less costly and more credible than any “Hocus-PCOS,” especially since Comelec Chair Andres Bautista isn’t known for making money, unlike most of his predecessors.
Will the people have good candidates? This is difficult to answer. We haven’t had good lineups to select from in the last 50 years. But if we just agree that no one over 60 years old runs for president and vice president, we should get a better range of choices as younger candidates won’t be as incorrigible as the old dogs who can’t learn new tricks and have in fact become used to being corrupt.
What can we do to make the 2016 elections worthwhile? For one, a write-in campaign to keep presidential tickets down to two options may help. This would produce a real mandate, not a backroom deal. But many presidential wannabes want more of them, so as to enhance their chances of being able to sneak through—to plunder the nation’s coffers.
It won’t be an easy road to the 2016 elections. But many, including this writer, think that Sen. Grace Poe brings a lot of hope.
—JOSE OSIAS, jzosias@gmail.com