There’s a barrage of political noise in the air as the official campaign period is nearing – ads, interviews, debates, vlogs, street surveys, etc. The political wannabes and their supporters are respectively chanting in unison the good traits, capability, skill and everything positive about their candidate. They fill the air with varied narratives enough to suffocate an ordinary mind. This is one of the reasons why those who are in the distant barangays pay little attention because they believe that like in the past, nothing will change in their lives. Quoting a vendor in the vernacular, “Kahit sinong umupo, magkakamatis pa rin ako.”
Sad but true. For the longest time, we can see that only those who were given seats in the political arena, either by election or by appointment, have the wide opportunity to enrich themselves. Once they get hold of the position, they will cling to it like a deadly virus or a lingering parasite. Prove me wrong! Very few would really care about the welfare of the people above their own. You can see how conveniently they amass wealth, building mansions, and buying expensive cars while the barangay roads they promised to fix remain scrappy and fragmented. Some roads resemble the moon surface like our barangay road.
If you will notice, political wannabes have this penchant of promising something during campaign period and forgetting it after they are elected giving birth to the joke, “nangako na nga, gusto mo pa, tutuparin?” This is very common among local candidates. At the national level, the aspirants would identify WHAT the problems of the country are – health, education, peace and order, foreign policies, etc., but they always fail to show the people HOW they are going to solve such problems.
It is quite easy to identify social, economic and political problems in our country. High school and college students are normally tasked to write about it and submit it to the class for discussion or in the form of a term paper. The hard part is how they are going to solve the problems because it will require a lot of reading and research the result of which may be contentious. Sometimes the issue is subjected to serious argumentation and debate among social scientists and legal minds. In the end, it is the decision of the power that shall prevail.
So, this forthcoming election, the people must carefully choose from among the contenders in the highest position who is the most qualified – someone who knew the nitty-gritty of running the national government; someone who is well-equipped with thorough knowledge on foreign policy-making; someone who is ready and willing to defy convention if only to save his people.
In these trying times when many lost their occupation due to the pandemic, try to ponder on this “He who knows WHAT will always find a job, but he who knows HOW shall be the Boss.”
Melinda Bagsic Evangelista
I was born to write and I believe that’s my calling. I love writing because it brings me to the realm exclusively of mine. It is also my opinion that “immortality” can be achieved not by searching for the Holy Grail and drinking from it but by living your life worth-writing or writing something worth-reading. Since I cannot promise you a life worth-writing, I keep myself busy writing something worth-reading. I am thankful to God for giving me the talent and skill to see life in different perspectives not seen by many and the courage to share it to my readers. This first ever Tutubi Digital News Magazine is a perfect avenue to bring you the many facets of life that you can ponder upon in this time of the pandemic. Enjoy reading all the articles.
