Musings about the 2016 Presidential Candidates of the Philippines

We now have five presidential candidates: Jojo Binay, the current Vice President of the Philippines, Mar Roxas, the standard bearer of the Liberal Party and the candidate endorsed by President Noynoy Aquino, Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City, Miriam Santiago, who ran for President in 1992 but lost to Fidel Ramos, and Grace Poe who is running as an independent and a neophyte in politics.

Who will I vote for?

First to be eliminated in my list is of course, Jojo Binay. Integrity is the foremost consideration in my choice for the top position of the country. If we want God to bless our country, we must remember this: Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)

Mar Roxas. Well, he is a good person, intelligent, trusted and the choice of business leaders. I have always voted for Mar Roxas before; he was always number one in the list of senatorial candidates that I voted for. I voted for him as Vice President in 2010. His performance before he became associated with Noynoy was very good. Moreover, he has very good qualities, but his indecisive character leaves much to be desired. His slogan that he will continue the Daang Matuwid is the thing that hinders most people from choosing him. If Daang Matuwid means that he will not steal, then that is good. But if Daang Matuwid means that he will imitate Aquino’s actions, like not firing the erring and non-performing cabinet officials, then that is bad. Roxas has been very loyal to Aquino, that even with Aquino’s blunders, Mar would defend him. If he wins in the election, would he be like Aquino by not firing the erring cabinet officials? I wish he would be more decisive.

What about Digong Duterte? For those who are utterly dissatisfied with the way President Aquino is running the country, Duterte is perceived to be the savior. What he did to Davao, he promised, he will do to the country. Because of his no-nonsense leadership, Davao is now a safe place to live in. He has promised to stop criminality, corruption and illegal drugs within six months into his presidency, and if there is no improvement in the peace and order situation in the country, he will resign. But is that possible? Isn’t it that since the president is elected he cannot resign? Was he just bluffing? If Duterte wins, will he not declare Martial Law to achieve his goal?

I will not make any comment on Miriam Santiago. Her time is past. She is no longer a relevant candidate.

Lastly, there is Grace Poe, who is facing disqualification cases on citizenship and residency issues. I will not fault her for choosing to leave the Philippines to become an American citizen. She was young when she did that and so in love with her husband, that she chose to stay with him. Another reason some people are not in favor of Poe is her lack of experience. Indeed, experience in governance is very important. However, in our country, the current officials have so much experience, but can we say that their experience improved our country? Because of that, Grace Poe's lack of experience is not a big deal. What is important is that because she is young in politics, she is untainted and very aggressive to improve the conditions of our country. For me, someone like her is a better choice than politicians who have been in politics for decades, who have tasted power and been exposed and have yielded to temptations of corruption. Still there are others who are very critical of her because of the perception that she is being very ambitious. I will not take it against her for being ambitious. Ambitious people are driven people who will do their best to achieve their goals.

There are also others that accuse her of being untruthful, that she already knows who her parents are but is pretending not to know them. Granting that she knows her true parents, and the reason behind her refusal to reveal them is her belief that it is shameful because it will be a disadvantage to her person, I will not take that against her. I will understand that it is part of our culture of “nakakahiya”.

The rumor that her father is a late president and her mother is a sister of her adoptive mother may be true. Consider this: Grace Poe had been a brilliant and very active leader during her student days, a trait which she may have gotten from her father who was very intelligent, decisive and very strong leader. Her performance in the MTRCB and as a senator are very good. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Another aspect that makes people believe that she is the daughter of a late president is that the resemblance between the two is striking!

I don't remember whether I voted for Grace Poe for senator in 2013, and was even surprised that she placed number one. But since I saw her performance as a senator, I have been convinced of her excellent capabilities as a good leader. Right now, I have not decided whom to vote for. I still have to hear more and see more of what these presidential candidates will say and do, but to be honest with myself, I can say that I am leaning toward Poe if she is not disqualified. Again, I am not yet 100 percent decided. I may still change my mind. But if I do change my mind, it will not be because Grace Poe is the daughter of that late president, because her character was not shaped by him. It was her adoptive parents who instilled in her the values that shaped her into the person she is now.

May 9 is three months away. My prayer is that God will give us guidance and wisdom to elect the right candidate to lead our country.

May God bless our country!