With the presidential election only a day away, I ought to have made up my mind. I haven’t. Not really. It has been noted that the current bunch of hopefuls is the most unexciting we have ever had to choose from (I must likewise note that whoever said that is obviously not a Rody Duterte fan). Nevertheless, I have to pick someone.
Who?
Even if a court has yet to find Jejomar Binay guilty of any wrongdoing, you can not ignore the slew of corruption charges against him, never mind his family. Which he has refused to address head-on, dismissing them as mere intriga (all he admits to is being short and dark-skinned). He claims to do to the country what he did to Makati. In light of the allegations, that may just be the problem. Pass.
Miriam Santiago is old and, by all indications, no longer at her sharpest, in mind and in tongue. Some of my friends are so desperate they are leaning towards her. “What if she dies in office?” “Then we’ll have Leni Robredo as president!” “But what if it’s Bongbong?” “Now you’re really scaring me.”
Grace Poe. Erstwhile American. Intelligent, eloquent, very much a lady. Yet even this late in the game, I am not sure how much of her image is spin. Is it time to concede Occam’s Razor? Still, I am uncomfortable (to say the least) with her ties to the Estradas/Revillas, fellow showbiz royalty. Her promise of a government with heart does not appeal to me. What we need above all is a sense of fairness and less theatrics. As her late father FPJ found out too late, life is not like the movies — his movies, at least.
Mar Roxas has the credentials, with a long and varied stint in government service sans the taint of corruption, but otherwise comes across as boring (sometimes uncaring), and his attempts at acting tough are unconvincing, even funny. He’s the safe choice, promising more of the same as the past six years, which means that a vote for him is a vote of approval for Pnoy’s legacy. I ask myself: are things really better now? You might be surprised by your answer.
Last but not least, the man of the hour, Rodrigo Duterte. He’s a hometown boy, having been born here (Maasin, Southern Leyte). But I am not sure he wants my vote. Like Donald Trump, he seems content to pander to those who already subscribe to his brand of leadership. Is it really too much for a presidentiable to show us he can act presidential? More worrisome is his casual disregard for civil liberties and basic human rights — indeed, human life. I, too, despair of the culture of crime and corruption in this country. How different is my despair than that felt by the masa when they elected Erap president in 1998? Won’t Rody Duterte’s unrealistic promises invite even greater disillusionment, his methods corrode our already frayed and fragile moral fabric? Make no mistake: this is one dangerous man. Seeing him succeed is going to be every bit as fascinating as watching him crash and burn. Which is why I might still consider giving him my ballot, whether he asks me for it or not. I wish I’m kidding.
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