WHAT WE HAVE IN THE PHILIPPINES ARE POLITICAL LEADERS THAT COULD EVENTUALLY DARKEN AND DEVOUR OUR NATION

This space has often discussed the kind of government in the Philippines we have been witnessing and experiencing ever since from the Marcos regime up to the present. I have lamented the fact that the traditional political leaders had shown and will continue on and on to ignore the crisis situation which is now stratospheric as if like a bubble about to burst. The Filipino citizens do not seem to have a deep understanding of the root cause of the crisis and so they have in essence shunned ever since their responsibilities in choosing their political leaders. For me, we have to choose our leaders not on the basis of our personal feelings but rather, it should be what we truly believe to be the "wisest" choice. The masses often voted for someone whose looks they idolize and admire, instead of the greatness of his vision, his views on the issues of the day, and what he stood for.

With such slanted way in choosing our leaders, our people, particularly the masses, which constitute the bulk of our country, that resoundingly pushed said politicians to victory did not see the dangers which had been the root cause of the prevalence of corruption committed by these politicians. We have to understand that in a democracy, everyone as a whole must participate actively to make our government work toward progress in order to achieve the goals that are reflective of the sentiments and aspirations of the people. With a society that is "tossed to and fro as the waves on the ocean", that whatever and whoever is idolized and adored, or because it so happens he or she is the flavor sundae will be the gage in choosing our leader, then, our country becomes disturbingly easy to degenerate into something called a lynch mob. Does no one know what kind of country we have now and will soon become if we will not come to our right senses?

We have to stop the vicious cycle which has become a pattern and had formed as stronghold in our system in choosing our political leaders. “Gone are the days when we judged who the next political leaders of our country will be by means of popularity, power and money. Let’s choose them on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. We should prefer an honest and righteous candidate than TV politicians whose faces are all over TV screens spending millions of pesos in political ads. Those trying to get the support of the masses by showing all their nice behavior to woo their friendships through skilled persuasion; using hypnotic rapport by saying: follow me on my exciting journey as I take YOU along in manifesting our Dreams & Desires. Persuading and captivating them by a wisp-of-straw friendliness as they bolstered it with a glutton of promises, implanting those kinds of thoughts about their welfare and security. Who is like a preacher whose every word is god, god, god, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul”.

What is required is that each and every one of us must have the ability to know the principles of right living, of good conduct, and what is best for everyone. In that sense; each individual would know his proper place and does not go over or under steps his bounds. By knowing this principle, we will be able to choose the right leader whose concern and love is with humanity more than personal gain. With this knowledge based on the said principle, we can keep a natural balance, and the equilibrium is maintained. “When each person conformed to his or her appropriate roles and discharged responsibilities correctly, virtue and harmony would prevail in the family, community, and state. Even the smallest act in life was seen as a rife which needed to be carried out with care in the established way and with a sense of proper ceremony.”

That deep rooted failure by the Filipino people in choosing the right leader is the major reason why these traditional politicians continue at committing corruption--laughing all the way to the bank because the people do not seem to care, or at least do not do something about it. For me, what has prevented the bubble from being calamitous is only because the people have still something to eat even how scarce and non-nutritious depending on what they can only afford with their low income; and this is the only thin thread that keeps the government hang in the balance. Thus, it is keeping precariously on a 24/7 close watch that it won’t falter.

This cycle of election, followed by the assumption of new political leaders, then, later, the worsening crisis we felt in our country due to corruptions, then rallies and demonstrations, then the rumors of coup d’ėtat, must be broken—or our nation will always be haunted by this vicious cycle of political leaders who keep coming and swarming like a plague of locusts taking turns at devouring and darkening our nation.

As the Irish saying goes, if a rogue deceives me once, shame on him. If he deceives me twice, shame on me.