Choice of conscience

WITH TWO days to go before we go to the polls, I would like to state my choice of conscience: the Mar Roxas-Leni Robredo tandem.

This campaign has been a marathon journey, and now is the time to draw upon our collective courage. What began as a slow burn has become a sure and steady surge in the homestretch.

I believe in our people and their inherent wisdom. I believe that the elections are a test of character for our people. I believe, moreover, that our choices reflect who we are in the eyes of our children and the rest of the world.

Since our country’s landmark experience in 1986, the task still remains essentially unfinished, because the past is not truly past. We cannot afford to return to the practices of the past or rely on uncertain and untested promises.

We need to redouble our efforts and renew our resolve to build a lasting legacy of a just peace, based on democratic participation and rule of law. That is the reason we need, more than ever, to come together and support the Mar-Leni tandem in this defining moment in the life of our nation.

Before the Iglesia ni Cristo announced its anointed candidates, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma issued a pastoral letter, “A Matter of Conscience,” where he condemned the practice of summary killings documented by the testimonies gathered by the Redemptorist priest Fr. Amado Picardal, the Commission on Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch. Killed in Davao City alone were 1,424 people from 1998 to 2015, 52 of whom were women and 132 children. Archbishop Ledesma puts the responsibility of this mass murder both “illegal and immoral” at the doorsteps of the Davao Death Squad—unsolved by the local authorities in a place which claims to be a “city of peace and order,” led by the candidate anointed by the INC.

Politics is the art of imperfect creation, and there are no perfect candidates running for public office. However, we have at least two candidates who constitute a tandem with sterling qualities. Together, they represent the team best prepared to lead our country in 2016. Because of their integrity, track record and the witness of their lives, both Mar and Leni have proven beyond a doubt that they can truly be the servant-leaders that our people deserve.

They are candidates with character, competence and conscience.

Character. Both Mar and Leni are no strangers to sacrifice; they have experienced the pain of loss, and know the sacrifice of giving up to give more.

Both were reluctant politicians who stepped up when the call to serve beckoned. Both have given their lives to dedicated service to others, without counting the cost and with generous hearts.

Competence. In their years of service in and outside government, as legislators or NGO workers, as members of the executive branch whether in national or local levels, Mar and Leni have demonstrated their capacity to always deliver their best. Their preparation enables them to create inclusive approaches, to empower people, to bring out the best in others and to build the institutions required.

Moral courage. In their lives, both Mar and Leni have made momentous decisions and taken hard choices consistent with their principles: no compromises with the dictatorial or corrupt practices of the past; no shortcuts to the rule of law; no accommodation with the hidden patrons
of power.

Now is the time to stand up and be counted! Now is the time to make public our political positions, to announce our choices with pride, and to humbly proclaim the names of our candidates. It is a badge of honor to be associated with candidates who have integrity, who embody honesty and hard work, and who have a track record of service measured in decades of exemplary leadership.

Mar and Leni represent what is best in the Filipino and can ensure the building of a just peace in our land—where the needs of the most vulnerable are given priority and the concerns of all are addressed. In particular, I would like to mention five constituent groups that can turn the tide in the homestretch:
• The millennials who can become an enlightened force to become “Marlenials.”
• The People Power generation who can give moral force to the campaign in the endgame.
• The teachers who have condemned attempts to revise history by the Marcos heirs.
• The women in our midst standing up for their rights and demanding to be treated with dignity and decency (not with disdain and disrespect, as some candidates have shown), who can help underscore the “gender pillar” in our society.
• The senior citizens in our society who can see in Mar and Leni a “safe pair of hands”—a tandem that they can trust to care for their rights and interests.

The combined experience and accomplishments of Mar and Leni in the executive and legislative branches of government enable them to understand the complex issues of leading a country. They can stand at par with regional and global leaders. They can convene a talented and trusted team that will pursue our national interests while undertaking economic diplomacy, seeking climate justice, and dealing fairly and firmly with our neighbors in the Asean, the Asia-Pacific, as well as in Europe and the Americas.

If we are to make a difference in the life of our nation and build a future that is different from the past, we must sustain the Mar-Leni momentum. There is a groundswell for governance that is grounded on accountability, an economy that is inclusive and founded on sound principles of development and that is both just and sustainable. Profoundsocial change will not take place in the lifetime of one administration, but will require the sustained support of several generations.

The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. If we are to lead, we must be ready to face these challenges in the days ahead: to be steadfast in our faith that we can build a better nation, to strengthen our determination to bring out the best in us Filipinos, and to share the conviction in this campaign’s homestretch period that together our support for the Mar-Leni tandem represents our best chance to continue to transform lives so that our children can inherit a better future.

Hope, in the words of Vaclav Havel, is to find meaning and purpose in the work we do and the life we lead.

We stand firm in the hope that this campaign and our collective courage will give us the victory that our people so richly deserve.

Ed Garcia, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, worked with Amnesty International and International Alert based in London for over two decades. He taught political science at the University of the Philippines and at the Interdisciplinary Studies Department of Ateneo de Manila University. He is now a consultant on formation at Far Eastern University Diliman.