Voices of frustration?
The SWS and Pulse Asia recently released the results of their separate presidential surveys. Just like in the previous polls, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. maintained his lead over his rivals. Fifty to sixty percent of the respondents would choose Marcos if elections were held today, with his closest rival Leni Robredo trailing at around 19 percent while the other candidates have smaller numbers. What do the numbers tell us?
In the 2016 presidential elections, the rise of President Rodrigo Duterte was seen as the Filipino people’s strong statement of rejection of the elites who ruled the country after EDSA revolution.
From 1986 to the present, we can take pride of the fact that our democratic institutions have been restored. But the country’s economic growth and development has been in a roller coaster ride for more than three decades. Some assert that the worst traffic situation in Metro Manila as well as in other highly urbanized cities and the widening gap between the rich and the poor are the best evidence of failure of the democracy restored after Martial Law.
Why would we elect a member of the Marcos family which we exiled at the fall of the Marcos regime? To those who fought at the EDSA revolution and who are lucky enough to enjoy the fruits and blessings of the present democracy, electing another Marcos is an abomination. Our collective vision in the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution may be so real for the rich families: “a just and humane society and a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.”
But those who can claim the realization of this vision are just a few as opposed to the 23.7 percent of the Filipinos who experienced poverty during the first half of 2021, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority. What is the meaning of liberty and prosperity envisioned in our Constitution to those people who are suffering from hunger and extreme poverty?
We may have promising growth rates prior to the pandemic but the blessings of the erstwhile growing economy failed to trickle down to the poorest of the poor as the gains have benefited the rich only.
What we are hearing now are voices of frustrations of the neglected public. However, frustrations should never lead us to blindly choose our leaders. According toa popular Netflix series How to Become a Tyrant, “You can’t allow your emotions to influence you… not even when it involves your family.”
Let us pore over the plans that our presidential candidates promise to implement in the next six years. Other than being an inspiration, the next president must also be true to his words.