Early Conceding: A Surprise

Recent elections (the manual ones) were witnesses of very hot words about massive cheating from contrasting and contesting candidates in all levels of the political arena at the wake of the People’s mandate; that is why it is surprising that almost all Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates are declaring their concessions to the leading in the tallies THIS EARLY; and take note: these chance-takers are the very ones who traditionally are reluctant to do so. How does it come to be?

Automation

The very fact that this election is the first ever automated one, that in just a few days—maybe less than a week—all results would be tallied by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), other political volunteer watchdogs, and several media networks tying up with computer schools for this coverage (ABS-CBN with STI; GMA with AMA; and TV5 with iAcademy) among others. All their outputs are almost the same, with a combined margin of error of about 2%-3% or lower; which on one hand is un-credible for their audiences to base on—even though they emphasize over and over again that these are partial and unofficial; and on the other, relieving because of the spectacular accuracy of the results in a very short period of time.

Vigilance

Every citizen, registered voter or not, of legal age or minors, are stuck in the screens of televisions or computer monitors for a day last Monday, and sporadic instances in the following days, until COMELEC’s proclamation of the leaders-elect in the national level, where it would diminish and would later be focused on National Flag Day on May 28, Independence Day on the 12^th of June, and would climax on the swearing-in of the new President and Vice-President, and other newly-elected officials on June 30. There were really some who defied human anatomy and physiology just to be vigilant in this very sacred moment of Philippine politics; that they do not get enough sleep, control their nibbling for the latest updates flashed before their eyes, and got fatigue just to get things done. For this, I salute them as they reward themselves some rest.

Reflections in campaign

For the candidates, during the 45 to 90 days of campaigning, they realized what is going on to our country as they do their sorties all over the Philippines. After the results came in, where Noynoy Aquino and Joseph Estrada came on top—the former, taking a commanding lead, and the latter still resilient in second—some of them realized what went wrong in campaigning, not in the counts. During this period, too many insults were made to each other, most especially Estrada of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, Aquino of the Liberal Party, and Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party; most of the time, the first two against the latter. Jamby Madrigal, an independent and one of the last to concede, was one of the top critics of Villar, which was the sole, immature reason of her candidacy. Their realizations are heavily based on what they did in the campaign and its results in the tallying.

Concession=support? cloaked declaration of fraud?

There is this uncertainty in the part of the constituents whether a candidate’s conceding is to support the winner, to declare fraud or opposition to the incumbents-elect, or to another topic.

Conceding, in the strict sense, is the reluctant acceptance of something true or the acceptance of failure or defeat even before the culmination of something; in this situation, the elections. In the substance of the concessions of the top competitors and underdogs, we can analyze that most of them unconditionally gave in to what they believe was the winner according to the counts, yet others still suggested to the leading candidate their unrealized platforms—which they knew, would be much more beneficial if he would take it to his actions; mentioning the conceder about this would only be a mere bonus.

Accepting defeat with a sincere heart

To know your limits is to move forward; to accept defeat is a step closer to victory. At long last, our politicians knew very well how to concede, and making it as early as possible. I am really proud of them for showing much more sportsmanship than what we saw in the previous elections. We hope that these concessions would not result to unconcern by fanatics and further division to our torn-apart nation; instead, may every Filipino be involved in the hope that these leaders-elect strive to fulfill. May every Filipino realize that unity does not end in crises and challenges, nor in the elections, it should continue through our right use of freedoms and privileges.

“My son, do thy works in meekness,

and thou shalt be beloved above the glory of men.

The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things,

and thou shalt find grace before God:

For great is the power of God alone, and he is honoured by the humble.

Seek not the things that are too high for thee,

and search not into things above thy ability:

but the things that God hath commanded thee, think on them always,

and in many of his works be not curious.

For it is not necessary for thee to see with thy eyes those things that are hid.”

(Ecclesiasticus 3:19-23 DRB)

Personal Prayer for the Success of the 2010 Automated Elections

Almighty Father, Creator of all good things seen and unseen,

We are in the threshold of what we consider as the most awaited moment in our history.

We have nine candidates vying for the Presidency,

Eight running for the Vice-Presidency,

Over sixty men and women contesting for half of the seats in the Senate,

Hundreds of persons and party-lists taking the chance of being in the House of Representatives,

And thousands among us who are competing for local positions.

We pray that you may guide us to know who is really physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, and spiritually fit in leading us, in Your Love and Mercy, through thick and thin.

Be a Father to the persons who would be the next leaders of Your People in the Orient;

Guide their every decision,

Chastise them in their iniquities according to Your Mercy,

Inspire them to follow the example of Your Son—our Lord—Jesus Christ

In order for them to share His priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission

As an important step in the ever-continuing process of Your Kingdom over Your People.

Lord Jesus Christ, True Son of God and True Son of Man,

Rule over us;

Be the King and Lord over the Philippines.

Rule over our decisions.

Rule over the platforms of our comrade-candidates.

Just as You entrusted Peter the Church,

We entrust to You our nation,

Battered and divided by lies, discrimination, and the snares of the Evil One.

We implore for Your Mercy

That You may lead home those who detest You and our country—

That You may lead home those who lost hope in our Motherland.

Divine Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Trinity, equal to and co-eternal with the Father and the Son,

Inspire our mandate;

Protect the PCOS Machines that would count our one voice in the elections;

Rule over Your Temple—our whole being,

That the Mutual Love of the Father and the Son, which is manifested through You,

Be felt in all the 7,100 islands of Your People,

And that we would be sure of who do we allow to serve You and Your People with nothing in mind but the right needs of the many.

Through the intercession of Mary, Queen and Mother of the Philippines, and all the Angels and Saints, who are also comprised of Filipinos who have done Your will above and beyond their whole being, we pray for the success of this elections

+ In the Name of the Father,

And of the Son,

And of the Holy Spirit.

AMEN!

What REALLY is at stake?

Corruption.

Poverty and expanding marginalization.

Economic, political, and social instability.

Gasgas na ‘yan.

Actually, there are a lot of nitty-gritties the next president must face by his/her first day on June 30th.

So, if ever new—and unimproved—governance would be part of history (hope that there would be no failure of elections), the next president must consider the following factors as at stake:

Trust of the populace

Everyone is really watching, waiting, and anticipating the moment of truth, which would come in a few days time. One agent of this vigilance is the basic (visual and audible) and electronic media (the Internet; specifically the myriads of sites and blogs scattered on this side of the Superhighway concerning this “noblest and finest hour” of Philippine politics). Other agents, aside from the conscious and subconscious mind of every rational-thinking Filipino, are political observers and watchdogs such as the PPCRV (the official citizen-arm observers), the “unrecognized “NAMFREL, and a certain “Grupong Kontra Daya, among others. It is really not a surprise that the trust of the people is vital in this political game.

The diverse youth

From RNB/Hip-hop to KPop; from DOTA to Left 4 Dead; from typo shortcuts to jejemons; the Filipino youth has it all—all except the salience of politics in their lives. Approximately 60% who comprise the youth are non-voters or non-registered youth of legal age; their destiny would depend in the citizen’s mandate next week. However, more than half of this statistics are either very young children or teenagers who are into music (in which most of it are from famous artists outside our country; most preferably Hollywood or Korea), sports (basketball, badminton or football), fashion, skateboarding, being famous at their early age, and unfortunately, some are also up to vices and drugs—not into politics like some of their comrades in the age bracket. The next government leaders MUST hone the skills the youth insist to do even without the recognition of virtually everyone; and that they must also lead these young ones out of desperation, deterioration, and death to the life they have wanted all along.

Social immorality

Secularism deteriorated the moral values of all sectors of society; or worse, in this world where everyone gives more importance on economic quality and quantity, society sets aside the other, more important quality—moral quality—where even the Church, who promotes moral values, finds it difficult to convince the faithful to remain chaste, honest, and faithful to God. Even though the Church and the State are separated in terms of checking and balancing, and that is also according to the Constitution, the Church and State must cooperate with each other in making a moral society. And that to minimize, if not completely obliterate, the effects of pornography and sexual desires, which results to premarital sex—a taboo to a Christianized Filipino society—the new (or not-so-new) faces in the government should cooperate with the Church to “evangelize the Good News of morality” to those who are still in the bondage of darkness—of the sin of promiscuity—of immortality.

Unwillingness and unconcern

After being elected, there would be problems that he must face and solve:

I am 95% sure that the next president would be someone very known. People who are of no interest to politics and governance before, during, and even after the campaigns would tell to themselves that the situation would just be the same; that there would be apathy, apolitical sympathies, and worse, the thought of anarchy.

I have pointed out on my last blog about apathy, so there would be no problem on tackling it again. It just seems so peculiar that some Filipinos would have a concern on politics IF there is something in return, such as land for farmers to own, houses for families to live on, or even money for people to spend on their “essentials”. Afterwards, they would exchange it to things “more practical,” and like those who have no gratitude—walang utang na loob—they would throw stones to the government that they detest so much when something wrong happens to them—which is actually their fault in the first place.

No taste of satisfaction

Let’s face it: Most Filipinos have no sense of appreciation to their fellow Filipino unless he/she is world-class, funny, a celebrity, rich, or someone who is working bigtime either here or abroad—especially for someone seen on TV. The downside is that those who are looking down on those who “dream big” are the very ones who are the first to be awestruck to see the same group of persons who made their big dreams come true; though some of them have also got that to their head that it would eventually lead to their downfall. One example of this group of people is singers. Their expertise in wowing the judges were not that recognized, so some of them give up forever and others continue dreaming till they would be recognized somewhere in the world. When the person in this situation continues to be aired on TV or radio, the rest would be showbiz.

Let’s now tackle on jobs, where almost every Filipino is dying to get out of the country and their comfort zone just to have a high-paying job, even if it would cost their dignity, reputation, family, and life. There are some cases where they really do not want to go back to the Philippines—to stay to where they would be going for good—and be legally someone else somewhere. But the problem would be if they got so cocky, they would not only shame themselves, but also the Filipinos. In this case, they, having no taste for satisfaction to their own, would also have no taste for satisfaction to others, for this was their practice back home. Thus, denial to one’s own is denial to one’s self.

So what?

Virtually, this election is all about the future of our country as we know it. After almost ten years of the Arroyo tenure, and after all we have experienced, the Filipinos are expecting and anticipating for a better six years. The Philippines and everyone and everything that is attributed to her are at stake. A vote changes everything, and it must be a positive one in this never-before tested system.

Apathetic Philippines?

Forget the surveys.

Forget the white or black propaganda.

Forget the sympathy of fanatics, followers, and supporters.

Forget the campaign.

Let us focus on the silent majority whose only concern is their families, friends, and themselves and what they are worrying about.

Just last Sunday (Good Shepherd Sunday); our parish priest has mentioned in his homily about the importance of the active participation of the faithful—that their concern must not be limited to the family or the community. He told our community that there are some “na ang tanging inaalala ay ang pamilya [o ang komunidad]…. Minsa’y iniisip: ‘May pakialam at pag-aalala ako sa buhay ng pamilya ko; pero ang [Inang] Pilipinas, bahala na siya sa buhay niya!’ [sic].” A very regretful reality that this country is facing; There is a hypothesis that no one in this social group has dared to participate, either in words or in actions, on discussions of political and national concern on work, at school, or even at the dining table at home; we cannot blame the kids for their unwillingness to politics for they do not even know what it is. I would be playing devil’s advocate as I tell you, based on what I observe, the reasons why they don’t want to “waste their time” on such “worthless” matter, and what are their palusots just to have a different topic. By the way, apathy means lack of enthusiasm or energy; in this case, unwilling to be concerned about politics. What you would see are some thoughts in my head when I fill the shoes, sandals, and slippers of a certain group of ordinary Filipinos. I have to remember you, dear reader, that these are NOT subject to support any candidate nor would it destroy the image of the common tao. THIS IS SIMPLY AN EXHORTATION OF WHAT MAY BE THE THOUGHT OF THESE PEOPLE INDEFINITELY BEFORE, DURING, AND INDEFINITELY AFTER THE VOTING, THE COUNTING, AND THE YODDA-YODDA STUFF ARE THROUGH:

-[philosopher-politicians] “These politicians are not different to the humblest child for he is a mere human being only bestowed by temporal power; what, then, is his right to boss around his fellow human beings like they are slaves? “

-[economists] “Could these people know the needs of each and every one? Of course not! Maybe they do not even know why they are elected by the people who fell into their empty promises. “

-[if the person speaking is a family man/woman] “Why would I even care of that? I have children to feed and raise to become NORMAL people whose only desire is to make money and nothing more!”

-[marginalized people] “For years, we are hoping for a brighter future; but it turned out dark and empty! We cannot trust anyone anymore because what they give is perishable and it is not what we want!”

-[students] “Do I even care? I have to focus on my grades!”

-[out-of-school youth] “What a joke if they forced me to graduate high school or college just to have a job!”

-[the average working man] “I’m busy doing my job! I have no time for that!”

-[drivers, barkers, and maglalakos] “would they give me a very decent job to get out of this un-noble, informal work?”

-[garbage men] “Would they feed us; or feed themselves?”

-[tambays and lasenggeros] “They are not even street-smarts!”

-[teenage gangs] “We are up to other things than that.”

-[very closed religious and spiritual people] “I believe that there are no other rulers than the Supreme Being.”

-[anarchists] “It is better to have no rulers than bad ones.”

See?

There are really some who, even though recognizing authority, do not want to be involved to what they see as a “dirty job.” Let’s face it, there are really people who just wanted to live their lives and not be manipulated by what they percept as “not helpful” to society and to their situation. As a student who should be specializing on communication, aside from the ‘first impressions last’ proverb, I believe that there are two factors that made them apathetic in a way or another: exposure and self-actualization.

The first, and less verifiable proof, is exposure to mediated situation. As they watch, hear, and read news, it is always involved by people in the government, from the worst scandals, catastrophes, and bloodsheds to the simplest robbery cases. What they see is a message that they are an organization of prime importance in all agenda of all media organizations. But in the more verifiable proof—self-actualization—they would apply what they saw and heard to their environment. Applying the famous medium-is-message thought, the source of information is actually a trigger that would make them think that the government always has the wrong decision. This gives them the thought to oppose all decisions the government makes, whether it is right or wrong. What happens is an idea of egoism and dismay that they just wanted to live their lives and nothing else. Somehow akin to Rizal’s quotation that the Filipinos would “only trust in God and not anymore in the [Spanish] government” [sic].

In the end, we would all be facing the same problems and the same calamities as one nation. If we really are those who believe in God, we should “love one another” as the Lord loves us (cf. Jn. 13:34)—not only ourselves, the constituents, but also our leaders; and if ever they made a terrible mistake, we should condemn their fault, but not themselves—their whole being—to hate the sin but love the sinner, for all of us would face judgment at the end of our lives. Let us not focus too much in the personal in choosing our mandate on the Tenth of May. To be indifferent and fair, I pray that all of us would understand each other, that every voter and every candidate may have a mutual understanding and follow Christ’s example.