Know your nuisance candidates

THE political arena has been opened. We are about to witness what is fun and what is funny. We should not be carried away by the criticism of politicians. In a game called elections, anyone can give his satirical point of view at the expense of the eponymous politicians.

In our country, it is easy to create a mélange of intriguing political drama and gloriously fun action-thriller. Some candidates call themselves legitimate and those who oppose them could be tagged the bandersnatch or simply the nuisance candidates. The Comelec decides who are the legitimate or the nuisance candidates. Here in the Philippines, those who want to join the elections have very simple qualifications and requirements. One does not need to be a lawyer or to pass the psychological test.

Candidates who come from the family of fish vendors or dirty ice cream sellers and cannot raise a festive political endowment may possibly be tagged as nuisance candidates. My personal and vicarious experiences brought a kind of awareness because in the past elections I befriended candidates with aiguillettes as nuisance candidates.

A Negrense friend known to many as “the-man-who-would be-president” was allowed by our local Comelec to run as councilor, mayor, congressman and governor. He made an attempt to run as president. He appeared on a national television program. Comelec disqualified him because he did not have money to run a national campaign.

Many laughed at him. I did not. He was my classmate in the Ilonggo Sarsuela Academy facilitated by the Cultural Center of the Philippines before the rise of Silay Sarsuela in the '80s. He scripted and directed the playlet, "Ang Imo May Buho" (Yours Have Holes). His cast included the teachers and the local stage actors. It was a satire on the importance of the hole. He said, "Our body cannot exist without holes. We need hole to inhale and exhale. We need hole to take in food. We need hole to eject what becomes of food. We need hole to populate the world."

That sounds funny but in that playlet he was the lead actor and he played the role of a ghost hunter. When he ran for governor, he was very emphatic with his belief. "To have peace, there should be understanding. If understanding cannot be reached, these should be a compromise. To avoid encounter between Filipino rebels and Filipino army, the rebels should patrol the area on MWF and the army should patrol the same area on TTS. This, they will do until the governor can find a solution." The suggestion came from a nuisance candidate.

Another candidate for councilor kept on running for more than five elections. "You have to vote for me. I am an honest man. I was a working student in my college days. I earn a living by working hard. I have only a bicycle to reach out to voters. I don't have handbills to give but I have a heart and dedicated service to offer." He did not win. Now, he is old already and again, he is running.

There was this guy who became a lawyer. He wanted to run as mayor in his town. His fate was like a tournament between a goat and a carabao. He did not win after several attempts. He decided to run as councilor. He was fixing his own streamer on the tree top. People laughed at him. He won as councilor.

Legitimate candidates should not be afraid of the candidates approved by the Comelec who are perceived to be nuisances. Our electorates will always vote for candidates who stand on a platform. The people in the community will always know who are serious, who are riddled with graft and corruption, who are immoral, who are cruel and liars. The election campaign will bring out the truth and the candidate will be scrutinized by the voters.

God has arranged a season for us to know the candidates. We are a part of that season for a reason. Make that season count. Have a cause for every candidate you vote. What we do is gaining treasure for the future. Make your choice count. Be a gift to your country.