Undecided

Who are you voting for?

A month from now, our decision will either make or break the nation. It might not mean anything for some people, thinking that this train is bound to its tracks, and poverty will always be beside its rails. There is no hope for this dying nation. In the end, no matter who takes the seat of the highest post in the land, we're all doomed to failure.

I refuse to believe that.

If the elections were held 8 months ago, there is no doubt the yellow ribbon and the Cory Magic would've made it easy for Ninoy's son to win the presidency, now its a battle between Orange and Yellow. Both of which claim they can make everything right, one says he'll end poverty. The other says he will not steal.

Forget Teodoro, Gordon, Perlas, Madrigal, Villanueva and Estrada. Come May, it will be a showdown between the former 2.

Noynoy or Manny.

I am not going for Manny, even if I had a gun pointed at my head instructing me to shade the circle beside his name on the ballot. I was going to go for Noynoy with one principle in

mind, I will choose the lesser evil.

Now who's to say that is true?

Is he really the one with the moral ascendancy to carry out this one grave task of salvaging a nation in turmoil? Or are we just blinded by the Cory Magic and we fail to see that he is just not ready yet to run a country. That he is just not yet made.

Villar on the other hand, promises a life free of poverty, claims will end it and that slogan is winning its way to the minds of the hopefuls, unaware that this guy reeks of corruption and carries the stench of his sea full of garbage "dagat ng basura" jingle.

That leaves us with a handful of choices. A bunch of wannabes with platforms perfected by careful planning and mastery of this nation's problems.

A month ago, I would have said with conviction that I will vote for Noynoy, now I am undecided, what does he have to offer that the other candidates didn't? If a congressman wasn't

able to do much for a small province, how can an entire nation rely on him?

I still think there is hope though, but that's mainly because I'd like to think that my son has a bright future ahead of him. That 6 years from now whoever wins the May election may have done something good.

That 6 years from now, this country has learned its lesson not to put our hopes up on just one person and leave our fate to the president who after all is just human like us bound to commit mistakes may they be grave or petty forgivable errors.

That 6 years from now, we have realized that no one can save us from ourselves but ourselves.

Shall I go for Teodoro who seems sincere but made one big mistake of making a pact with the devil?

Noynoy who claims to be honest but has done nothing trustworthy?

I am undecided.

Actor-Politician

The other day, I was listening to the good times morning show on the radio and Grace Lee made an interesting comment about actors who are running for public office and turned down Mo Twister’s invitation for an interview on his show. Apparently Ara Mina had a very memorable experience on his show. She was able to uplift the morale of showbiz personalities who turn into accomplished politicians. She did this simply by her wit and intelligent answers to extremely regular questions. (What the ?)

Grace pointed out, they are afraid to come to Mo’s show but they are not afraid of the people they will be held liable and accountable for if and when they win in the coming elections. True. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against actors who become public servants. The constitution does not in any way prohibit them from doing so, but holding a public office is no walk in the park, there’s no director that shouts CUT! if you make a mistake, once a decision is made, it is the people who voted for you that reaps the benefits of your good decision, and they are the same ones who suffer if you made a bad choice.

I wonder what’s going on an actor’s head that very moment when they make that life changing decision to run for public office. I mean what were they thinking? Weren’t they just bored with their lives and thought they’ll raise up the bar a bit and make their lives more interesting. Or is it really the will to do good that pushes them to take the challenge and pray that God will do the rest? This country has suffered enough with one big mistake in the person of Erap and I wish we’ve gained a bit more understanding that good acting doesn’t translate to good public servant.

The fact of the matter is, people are stubborn, it’s the kid in us that gets the better of us, when we make tough decisions that we feel doesn’t directly affect us. We look at elections like it’s a game, we pick those who we think are most likely to win, notwithstanding their credibility and all other factors that makes for a good public servant.

We fail to realize that if they win, we lose.