Anatomy of a candidate

A STUDENT of political science can analyze political systems and political behavior based on a generalization and use these results to predict future behavior. Any politician would use his influential position to solidify and perpetuate the power of his political opponent. I don’t say using dubious means which could be done.

Politics is not always something dirty as pictured out by some. It is an art and science of the government of a state and the politicians are there to engage in the techniques of civil government. Can politics be dirty? Yes, if you are there for personal interest. Politics is like a gun. You can have it to protect life and property. You can have it also to pursue your evil motive. Politics can be best understood and appreciated if you are not just a bystander. Be a candidate and join politics.

When you are a candidate you open up your life to the public. People will know your academic qualifications, your achievements, and your other involvement in the community or in your church. Your family background will be vividly scrutinized by the voters, from your married life, profession, business, the behavior of your children and their involvement in society. Your SALN will be made public. Your meticulous neighbors would want to know the status of your relationship with your wife. They will even dig up stories of your former girlfriend. Soon, they will know that you have a son outside of marriage.

They will also discuss that your brother died in a government hospital and he died miserably without you helping him. People will start looking at your wife and they will know of her love story with a bank assistant manager before your marriage. One day a copy of a guidance counselor’s report about your son will just appear. The story of how your son was suspended for drug addiction and sent to a rehab center for six months will be made public.

Your elementary school classmates would start revealing that you used to cheat in class, copying their test answers. Your best friend who was not able to borrow money from you last month would be telling your other friends that your English grammar is poor. If you become a councilor, you cannot even draft a resolution. If you become a mayor, your will fail in your fiscal management because you are poor in Math.

Soon, you will hear nice stories that you are gay and that you slept with your underage helper and that you promised him to be your scholar in a public school so that he will not squeal. The gentry will judge you as unqualified to render public service because you have not even helped your sister and brothers. Your house is in a subdivision and you have three cars. Your first sister is a laundry woman. Your second sister is a GRO at “Buka-Buka Grill.” Your two brothers are tricycle drivers and the youngest is sick with tuberculosis.

The hoi polloi will tag you as cruel when you were drunk once and urinated in front of a vegetable vendor or that you kicked your sugarcane field worker three times because you caught him stealing santol fruits from your orchard. As a candidate, you will be tagged as kuripot because you do not donate to the fiesta organizer, sports events coordinator, clean and green program facilitator, or even to your maid whose daughter became Miss Cooking Oil in a purok beauty pageant.

Ah, the faithful in your parish will consider you an Antichrist because you do not go to church regularly. You are frequently seen in a cockpit or in a casino. Sometimes the populace suspect that you are a dirty-not-so-old man because you were seen entering a short-time lodging house with a beautiful lady half your age. The room boy happened to be the distant nephew of your political opponent.

I can go on with possible colorful stories. You see, politics can be a partaking of collations. I could be brusque and churlish rather than gruff. Try to be a candidate. You can be chink, paring or mingy. Tell me soon.