It's Unthinkable

I did not want to entertain "what if" thoughts. It's unthinkable and dangerous to think about losing. The moment of truth is just a week away. It is exciting and scary. We don't really know what will happen. I am hopeful though that the people's campaign wins for all of us to benefit. 

The biggest fear I have is for all the atrocities of the previous regime to come back. We've seen this happen in the last 36 years. Graft and corruption, plunder, extrajudicial killings, torture fake news, illegal arrests and many more bad things have been happening. 

Those things are still happening because the perpetrators are still in the system. I realized that Enrile's participation in the 1986 EDSA Revolution was all a farce. Did he stay back to ensure that eventually the Marcoses can regain power? 

If you look back at what happened post EDSA, President Cory's term was marred with many coup attempts. President Ramos had to contend with the power crisis. Then things went downhill when Erap won, got ousted for plunder, replaced by GMA whose was subsequently charged with plunder but cleared a month after DU30 took power. Progress was only made during PNoy's time. Remember he left 1 trillion budget for the next president. And DU30? He's leaving us with 13 trillion debt and we're still paying for the debt Marcos left. 

I was too young to join the EDSA Revolution in 1986. I was able to go to EDSA Dos and was there when GMA was inaugurated. We were all hopeful. We fought for it. We wanted things to get better. Then Oakwood and the Manila Pen rebellion happened. Impeachment complaints were filed 4 times, but the opposition only had 28 seats so it did not flourish. Then she pardoned Estrada. 

We deserve so much more than these people who have been abusing their power. I remember during PNoy's time the opposition was very outspoken. It wasn't a perfect presidency, but progress was made. Then budget secretary Butch Abad worked on fiscal transparency, but was later on charged by the Duterte administration. In our country they persecute you if you serve the people the right way. That's why I worry for James. 

Many avoid politics, but looking at our history the only way to get out of this countrywide hell is to choose the right leaders from top to bottom and hold them accountable. Let's learn from our neighbors who have gone through similar circumstances. It is our duty as citizens to ensure that these elected officials follow through with their promises. 

So think about it, you decide what kind of future you want. Do you want progress or do want things to get worse?

Your reading homework:

Why are Sri Lankas protesting in the streets?

General Ver's daughter reckons with her father and the legacy of martial law

Imee Marcos in London

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

The Other Candidates

I was surprised when one of my friends admitted he voted for the dictator's son in 2016 for vice president. He did because he didn't know anything about VP Leni at that time. Now he's voting for VP Leni for president after seeing all her accomplishments. The debated hosted by CNN Philippines last weekend is a good way to get to know the candidates. They invited all the candidates and most showed up. Seeing them side by side for the first time and answering the same questions was a good way to assess them. 

2016 presidential elections

It was my first time to hear the other candidates since the other networks did not include them. Here's what I thought about them:

Ernesto Abella - former presidential spokesman of President Duterte. He was eloquent, but I didn't get a good grasp of his platform. I read a bit about him and found out he has a good academic background, was a preacher, got abducted and his release was negotiated by then Mayor Duterte. That's when he started campaigning for him. His government appointments seemed to be due to a favor. 

Leody de Guzman - Ka Leody is labor leader. He's very knowledgeable when it comes to labor related issues, but lack experience in other aspects. I hope he can eventually provide inputs for government so that the lives of laborers could be improved.

Norberto Gonzales - he was secretary of national defense for a few months during GMA's time. He seemed to be a troublemaker based on Wikipedia and I didn't see any concrete contributions to government (correct me if I'm wrong, just basing it on what I've read). He was very calm during the event yesterday, but I did not get a good impression that he has enough experience to be president. 

Faisal Mangondato - he was introduced as a businessman. In answering the questions he mentioned that the hardships we are going through are due to the abuses of man that's why we are being punished by God. He didn't have a good grasp of the issues and had no solid platforms. Sorry but he struck me as a nuisance candidate.

Jose Montemayor, Jr. - a doctor supposedly with an MBA. I don't think this candidate took the questions seriously. He answered and questioned other candidates more to be noticed than to make sense. He is supposedly a cardiologist... sorry but I wouldn't want him to be my doctor nor president. 

I always go back to the post I made on how I will assess presidential candidates. It's been mentioned several times already that they are applying for the job and the 1987 Constitution provides the job description. I went back to my review of Jessica Soho's interview and my thoughts remain the same with regard to the more known candidates. I'm going to need to make time to watch the vice presidential debate of CNN also so I can get to know them better. Those always absent for debates and forums will not be considered by me. When applying for a job, one should show up for the interview noh. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

The Interview

Watched the Jessica Soho's interview of presidential candidates last night. It was interesting to watch and gave me a better idea of plans and thoughts of the candidates. Every election is important because it makes and breaks a country. It's not just about addressing local level needs, but also managing how other countries perceive us. Majority of the issues that were tackled were for domestic needs. 

In 2016, I wrote about assessing candidates based on the job description written in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Let's do a brief rundown of it based on the interview:

Have the skills and network to appoint the right persons in office.

Lacson - he was PNP chief during the Estrada administration, a senator and has served the cabinet. He has a very long list of senate bills filed. His vast experience showed during the interview. I'd like to believe he has a good understanding of how things work and would have good credible contacts by now -- just hopefully not all military men!

Moreno - Isko's political career has mostly been in the local level although he mentioned that he served as DSWD undersecretary for a few months. I did not get a good impression that he has a good grasp on how things run in the national level. Local programs aren't necessarily scalable. 

Pacquiao - his sincerity shown through, but I think where he's good at is helping people not running a nation. 

Robredo - among the four candidates, she was the one who was able to show that she's been doing things already. Getting an ISO certification is no easy feat. With the many volunteers she's been able to encourage, I think she'd also be able to recruit and appoint the best persons in office. 

Good understanding of what the country needs in terms of security.

Lacson - I think among all the candidates he has the most knowledge when it comes to the military. I have no doubt he'd be able to keep the country secure. My question though is, will he be able to develop the relations with other countries to help with the territory issues? 

Moreno - he wasn't able to protect the beach in Manila Bay from dolomite, what more about our national security?

Pacquiao - sorry, but I cannot imagine him sitting down with other heads of state to talk about territorial matters. As I mentioned, I think his best asset is his heart in helping people. 

Robredo - she is going to push for the recognition of the ruling on WPS. I could see that she's going to be firm on it and won't back down from China. 

Will not abuse the ability to suspend the writ of habeas corpus.

Lacson - with the Dacer-Corbito case, Mr. Lacson had been a fugitive for 15 months. It's worse than showing up in court with a neck brace. If he was truly innocent, why did he run away? 

Moreno - Isko gave me the impression he'd shadow the things the other mayor who became president did. 

Pacquiao - what I'm afraid of with Manny is he'll be used by his "friends". 

Robredo - I do not think she'd abuse this power. 

Good money manager.

Lacson - he has an anti-pork advocacy and from the interview showed he hates corruption. I think he'd be able to manage the budget well as long as he's able to get a good DBM secretary like Butch Abad. 

Moreno - so far he's been able to utilize his city's budget very well, BUT, I'm baffled about how the campaign donations ended up with him? Wasn't that supposed to go to the party? Correct me if I'm wrong.. 

Pacquiao - I've heard of his legendary bayong-bayong na pera pinamimigay. Not so sure about him managing the nation's money. 

Robredo - as VP, she's only had a meager budget, but she's been able to utilize it for good. Just compare her health packs vs. the DOH's. 

I just listed out some general guidelines from the 1987 Constitution. It's the job description for a president. I was a program manager for a very long time and being process oriented is important to me, so I looked at that also. I was also a community manager for a long time and I think at this time it's important to get help from volunteers, so I also looked at the ability to enable change. 

And as for the one who did not show up in the interview, why consider someone who can't be bothered to show the electorate his plans and platforms? Oh, but I never really considered him anyway. 

Go watch the show and keep an open mind. I thought to break down my thoughts based on the JD since it was a job interview after all. 

Great job Ms. Jessica Soho and team! :D

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