ARTICLE V (Suffrage) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that all citizens of the Philippines have the right to vote, including those who are at least 18 years old, who have resided in the country for at least one year. As a registered voter, what are your preparations in choosing the people to lead us?
On May 13, 2019 (Monday), people will go to their respective precincts to choose the people who vie for a position in the government, be it local or national. As one of them, below are my preparations before plotting their names in the ballot box.
First, I came to research in the Internet, the list of politicians who wanted to be elected. I have to browse it here so that I will know the different parties who desire a position in the national level. It may be senatorial candidates or party-list. After having their names, I have to check their personal data, like where they came from, the status in life, the things they do for the betterment of this country.
Second, read a lot from newspapers. It is very important to do this because there are lots of issues in the internet that need verification. Other people will post bad news especially in Facebook against other candidates to destroy their reputation and make people believe that their corrupt candidates are the best to choose. That is why, I’d rather check it in the newspapers and vote for those people who don’t have a criminal record, who respect their countrymen to the best that they could.
Third, ask other people their stories and opinion towards a particular candidate. Ask them why they like that person to be our leader. The suggestions of your neighbors and elders will help you a lot in choosing these leaders because everyone has his own perspective. After those gathered stories, it is the right time to balance the ideas that you’ve heard from them, then choose what’s in your heart that can enlighten the darkest side of the country.
By doing these preparations, I believe that we can have very productive leaders in the future because you prepared well before deciding to vote for them on election day. You won’t be a victim of this phrase, “repentance is always late.” (By Marvin G. Quilaquil, MAEd, LPT.)