DR CARL BALITA | Will Filipinos get a President they deserve?
We are a great nation of great people. Our sovereignty was attained through the heroic blood of our dead heroes. Our past speaks of such greatness, and what we are now should change towards what we are destined to be – GREAT! That is, if we choose greatness.
We look at surveys and opinions in selecting WHO should lead this country. Even President Aquino awaits before he picks who will be predictably winnable. Many Filipinos vote for who they think will win because they’re afraid that their vote will just go to waste.
REALITY check: There is more into who will be our President! Here are some of the STRONG factors that will pave the way to the making of the NEXT President.
1) Who will be supported by the expensive MEDIA networks? The popularity contest is between AWARENESS and TRUST and the interplay of these. Both are projected and strategized in the media. It is all PERCEPTION game at work.
It is not the question of WHO CAN AFFORD THE EXPENSIVE MEDIA but WHO THE PEOPLE WILL VOTE BASED ON HOW THE MEDIA EFFECTIVE PROJECTS (or support, strategize, or destroy) a candidate. Remember media includes television, radio, newspaper, and the emerging powerful SOCIAL MEDIA. The media become gods to these candidates as media shape the opinions and perspectives of the general public.
2. Who will protect the interest of the SUPERPOWER? Sovereignty does not insulate us from the influences of powerful global forces like the UNITED STATES. Did we ever have a president (and top government officials) that Uncle Sam did not like? They have the resources to make things happen.
3. The CELEBRITY endorsers, who personally or thru their managers, will take the endorsement as indeed effective way to win the attention and eventually trust of the electorate. From the look-alike to the raising-of-hand if the price is right. Campaigns trails will be a grand production with circus of dances and songs by celebrities to “humanize” the “animals” in many candidates.
4. The CHURCH, who may campaign for or against not only issues but directly PERSONS, who the electorate should and should not vote. There is NO separation as churches may actually become showcases of politicians inviting themselves in the practice of faith stepping on the mileage of spirituality but in fact is also in exchange past, present and future favors for the church and its leaders.
5. Who has the MONEY to buy the people, clans, and localities? It is business to many Filipinos who are willing to sell their future to the devil for the price that the highest bidder can pay. It is not anymore who is the most qualified, neither the most capable, nor the most popular, but who has most of the money to crawl in the middle of the night and trade and spell a deal. The MONEY can also buy the GOONS and the GUNS to coerce and ensure a win.
These are just SOME of the KEY PLAYERS of Philippine elections. A Juan dela Cruz may have a RIGHT to a vote but such shall also be a privilege to exploit and be exploited, build or destroy, gain or lose, make or break, even live or die. Crime will increase and criminals will be on the loose.
Election is a reflection of what our country IS and WILL BE, and how mature we are as a PEOPLE and as a NATION. I have hope as every election infuses hope that CHANGE may come. I just wish that such change will not only be on who will lead, but on who will VOTE RIGHT. My hope is alive that yes, FILIPINOS care for the PHILIPPINES.
(Originally posted from Dr. Carl Balita’s Facebook page, this is being reposted here with his permission. Additional credits to Mr. Monsi Serrano of PERK UP! The Philippine Business and News Forum.)
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