Vote Wisely

As the Philippine National Election draws near, (7 more days to be exact or in case you don't know yet) it is expected that aspiring politicians bombard all forms of media, from print to radio to television to the internet, with their campaign ads and propaganda, which sometimes, tend to be eye sores.. Some souls even cross the border turning their backs from fair play, just to make sure that they end up victorious.

Every politician has their own fighting style. Some claim to fight for the poor. Some fight for education. Some fight for the youth. Some fight against corruption. Some fight for women's rights. And some fight for other reasons. And each of them try to persuade you using their flowery speeches and high promises. Some of them even use a very crafty tactic, which I like to call the "LIBRE" tactic. It is when candidates promise the masses that pretty much everything they need would be free-of-charge. Some of these may include, free schooling, free health care, free rice or even free dental check up.

With all these promises of a better country, after the elections, do these politicians walk their talk? or do they just hide in their offices pocketing the hard-earned wealth of the Filipinos. Libre ba talaga ang edukasyon? May libre bang dental check-up? o nadaan muli sa walang kwentang pangako ang Filipino? People are falling deeper and deeper in to the abyss of poverty. What about the leaders who promised to help them? It seems like they just moved into Forbes or they just came back from their trip to Europe. Where are the so-called Protectors of the Poor? Saan ang pag-asa na pinangako ng mga politiko? This seems to be the cycle that us, Filipinos always follow. And I thought, as a kid, politicians are the people that are tasked to serve. They are the ones which Filipinos go to when they need help. I thought the government's role was to to assure the people that everything will be okay. I was wrong. The current role of the government officials is to get rich, and ones they do, they get even richer.

As a kid who can not vote, may I please ask you all one thing? PLEASE STUDY YOUR CANDIDATES. Read about them. Check out their platforms and political philosophies. Find out why they want to run. Is it because they really want to? or is it because they were told to run? Or is it because they want to get rich?  Here is a list of reasons that are NOT valid.

1. "Because my friends/ family is voting for him" It's your vote, not theirs.
2. "Because he belongs to this party." It doesn't mean he is the best already.
3. "Because he is the top candidate in surveys." Again, It's your vote, not theirs.
4. "Because he is my relative." So what if he is, doesn't mean he will serve you properly.
5. "Because he was my favorite actor or he looks handsome." It doesn't mean he is good enough to hold the position.
6. "Because their family has been seated for the longest time." That doesn't count for anything.

So please, do your part in this election. Don't entrust your future and your children's future in incompetent politicians. If we elect leaders with no interest in serving us, who do you think will be affected? Wouldn't it be us? So please, VOTE WISELY.

+AMDG,
the child blogger