By: Jerome Auza
In all the elections since I was old enough to understand politics, I have never seen so much divisiveness among the Filipinos during an election. I saw arguements with lawyers, priests, professionals of various backgrounds for and against certain candidates. Social media has made all the bickering even more intense.
One thing for sure, there is already a change that I can observe. For the first time, I have heard many people who say that the expected “uwan-uwan”, “inangayan” and other names we sugarcoat the act of vote buying, will not affect their choice of candidates.
I have seen on social media several posts that shame candidates who still do vote buying. At the same time, there is one national candidate who is keen on not buying votes. Indeed, I can say that the Filipino voters have matured already and have felt that they can control the destiny of our country through their sacred vote.
In Talibon Diocese, the clergy is actively campaigning against vote buying and this is something new because in the past, we only hear it in the sermons but now, you can see posters with strongly worded messages reminding the people about the sanctity of their vote. For sure there are many more parishes and dioceses throughout the country that are doing the same.
I envision a Philippines in the near future where vote buying will become a thing of the past. My hope is that the Filipino people will no longer need to accept offers of vote buying because they don’t need to accept the small amount of money because they have something to eat anyway every day.
On May 9, let us all go out and vote. Let us choose the leaders that we think can lead this country to build on the gains already achieved by the previous administrations while fixing what still needs fixing. Let us vote because we sincerely believe that they are the right candidates rather than because we received “inangayan” from these candidates.
Let us also pray for a peaceful elections and also for peaceful turn-over to the next administration. May our heated debates on Facebook be put behind after May 9. Let us all unite together as a country, no matter what our beliefs, origins, religion, affiliation or opinion.
But the work doesn’t end when the elected officials are declared. It is just the beginning. Let us all contribute to the improvement of our nation in our own small ways. Let us all work for peace and hopefully end the conflict that has been there for decades.
Lastly, let us all remain vigilant against abuses of government and do our part in order to make this country even better.
