(This is directly taken from my reply to Prof Agnes of FEU, Institute of Arts and Sciences)
Hello Sir Agnes. Long time no hear? Hehehehehe
I just finished reading the doc you sent. It seems to me that you like this area a lot - electoral process. This is one of the interesting areas in the field of political science esp. in Philippines setting. It’s very dynamic and it’s one of the most talked about topics. It’s also something that oftentimes disheartens those who really value election.
In the case of Manong Ed, no offense, I think he’s too ambitious. He committed the gravest error of equating Pampanga to the rest of the country. His dramatic win in his locale is an isolated case. Replication is out of the picture. He is even now facing heavy opposition in his own province. Running a “national campaign” is certainly not a walk in the park. It takes more than “moral regeneration” (for want of a better term), as his primary platform, to win the presidency. It takes more than naiveté. It takes more than provincial know-how to be in Malacañang. It takes more than what he has to be the next Commander in Chief of the AFP. He just simply doesn’t have what it takes to be the next president for now and my guess even in the future, not that I belittle him or his ability although I really do. While there is no denying that we need a leader who possesses moral strength or someone who exemplifies moral uprightness or someone who embodies Filipino values, he is just too self-righteous for me and I find it dangerous. His presence can further blur the very thin line that separates the Church and the State.
Speaking of the Filipino electorate, I honestly find it hard to describe who and what we really are in terms of what we prefer in a candidate. A lot of factors come into play. Apart from personal character-traits, there are more that seem to matter to a lot of us: name recall, performance (if candidate has previously held public office), popularity, political machinery, grassroots support, support of the religious and the pretending to be religious groups, support of Juday (pun intended), money, which is oftentimes derived from crimes that seemed to proliferate only when election is nearing such as kidnapping, bank robbery and so on and so forth, and believe it or not others vote depending on who is ahead in the latest survey, the list is never ending. We are simply insatiable.
With all things considered, I really think the multi-party system is to blame not the electorate. Why? Because relying on the latter to become what we envisioned them to become is wishful thinking. We are simply unique though predictable. And we shouldn’t even think that education is the remedy. It certainly is not the solution because we really cannot control how we want them to think or at least be like us in the way we think because this simply presupposes intellectual arrogance and therefore must be obscured along with the crude practices that we had and continue to have. A Harvard graduate still prefers Estrada, come what may, and a Georgetown alumnus may continue to find the petite Gloria better than the rest. This is a perfect juxtaposition of how we Filipino think even with education – voting wise. Despite the weirdness, I still find wisdom in the overall choice of the Filipino people for after all that’s the real beauty of democracy – choosing the person you think can deliver. There’s nothing much that w can do when we speak of the “Filipino electorate”
I will dedicate another chapter to explain why I believe multi party system is to blame but for now I have to limit my explanation since my eyes are now super tired and my fingers have become numb. I have been typing the whole day. (-:
It’s always a pleasure sharing ideas with you, Sir.
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