The Philippine Online Chronicles

The May 10, 2010 Election is 100 days from now.   Each single day is crucial and we should  use each day to empower  ourselves. . If there are one hundred days, there are also at least one hundred ways of spending these days wisely and effectively.

There are One Hundred Days and One Hundred Ways that Father Robert Reyes shares about  the blight of Philippine politics characterized by the following: 1) Dirty money; 2) Popularity driven; 3) Violence, warlordism, private armies, militarization, revolutionary taxation; 4) Abuse and commercialization of Nature; 5) Cheating and dishonesty; 6) Propaganda and blatant lying; 7) The political butterfly or Balimbing; 8) Arrogance: no repentance, no change; 9) The use and abuse of religion and religious leaders; 10) Deluded Messianism, thinking that one is absolutely necessary for the good of the nation and should therefore indefinitely stay in power; and 11) The uncertainty of automated elections.

Some of us support a candidate this early but it pays to make the decision on informed choices. Will Rogers once said that "Elections are a good deal like marriages, there's no accounting for anyone's taste. Every time we see a bridegroom we wonder why she ever picked him, and it's the same with Public Officials." Take time to know each of the candidates before choosing them.

I believe the challenge for the May 2010 election is maturity in the way voters and candidates conduct themselves. It starts with ourselves- scrutinizing the candidate and  verifiying candidate claims. We then decide on all factors combined- our conscience, our faith, and the candidate’s character, competency, coherent platforms and a clear vision.  Jet Hernandez suggests that "to make myself an empowered and an educated citizen-voter I would bear in mind the term ceteris paribus… with all things remaining equal. An educated voter must be able to decide whom to vote for based on objectivity."

Have you asked yourself, what kind of voter you are? Petalcorin believes that  If all Filipino voters are conscience voters, the best ones will be voted, our country will achieve the best result of political elections.  It is the same sentiment of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) where they urged Filipinos to follow their conscience, not the results of pre-election surveys, when they vote in the May elections.

“Follow the dictates of your conscience after a prayerful and collective period of discernment. “Winnability” is not at all a criterion for voting! The vote you cast will be a vote for the good of your country and your children’s future.

It doesn't end there.

Do something everyday for the the next 100 days.

1. Read all you can about the candidates, good governance, selection criteria, automated election system, and the Election 2010 coverage . You can start here at Blog Watch.  Visit other blogs like Filipino Voices. Anti Pinoy, Get Real Philippines, House of Smoke, Sanamagan, and new media initiatives like Vote Report Philippines 2010 and 100araw.com
2. Conduct conversations with other voters especially non-internet users, your family, relatives, friends or the stranger standing beside you.
3. Attend  public forums on presidential debates or discussions on the elections that we post in our Events calendar.
4. Share your discussions in Twitter, Facebook , Plurk, and in your blogs .

It’s that simple.

Elections  are not just about our candidates. It is about us, the electorate as well.  The candidates and electorate need to understand, appreciate, and cherish their personal dignity as well as our collective or national dignity as a people, as a nation.

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