ELECTION fever is slowly building. As I had just written last week, most of our politicians are already jockeying for positions in the 2022 elections. Imagine these politicos as the burly forwards and centers boxing out each other for a chance at the rebound.
The latest to throw in his hat in the election mix is our good senator from Sarangani. He is eying the presidency in 2022 as he just accepted the nomination made by his party. It makes the 2022 elections more fascinating yet bothersome. Fascinating because those who have expressed their early desire for the presidency are the not-so-usual suspects. Bothersome, because it seems that we are putting the nation in a more precarious state as we try to recover from the pandemic. These candidates are yet to present their platform for governance, and already people are campaigning for them.
You may begin to ask, what has politics got to do with my column? Politics play a significant role in crafting sports development programs, as I shared last week. I am writing on the topic again because I care so much for our sports program development as I care for governance. And good governance starts with electing good leaders.
I have nothing against our politicos’ ambitions of power. I would advocate that they take the time to realign that ambition of power with service. A genuine service that will benefit the marginalized, the sports sector included.
If you look at our sports achievements recently, government support has been a big key to its resurgence. The sports sector hasn’t been given this much attention in years past.
Look at where the attention has led us-our 2nd SEAG Overall Championship, 1st Olympic Gold and the most successful Olympic participation in recent memory. Ambitions of power to serve the marginalized can become a lasting legacy for any leader, including sports development.
How many deserving student-athletes in the country have been taken into account as potential national pride? Have we considered how sports can move forward from this pandemic?
I hope that those who have already expressed their intentions for 2022 have these thoughts in their hearts. And not merely the power that comes with the position forgetting why they are elected in the first place.
Elections are not for the politicos, it is for us, the people of this nation. May these candidates recognize where their power rests. They yield it because we allowed them to.
The call remains.