In conclusion to the Philippine elections....

I'm not a fan of people who rant about stuff without even knowing what they're talking about, so I'm going to try not to do that and just write honestly and simply.

Before the elections, I wrote my say on it here: [LINK], and since I had my say before it started, I should be able to have a conclusion after the elections, right? ;)

This year's elections had people hoping that it would mark a change, including me. But what a disappointment when it went anti-climatic. Here are some of my disappointments:

1. That the best candidate wasn't proclaimed as our president. In fact, the top 3 weren't the best choices at all. Seriously,a mediocre senator? A former president famously kicked out of his seat? A businessman, who made a bad investment by spending all that money just to win the presidency?(something's fishy there...). Haven't we learned from the past?

2. That the vice president may well be a pawn for greedy millionaires who care nothing about the country. Politics is too shady for me to understand its intricacies.(It's very convenient to keep innocent citizens in the dark).  I feel a little sorry for Mar Roxas. At least with the Noy-Mar tandem, there was more hope Noynoy wouldn't bungle up. Binay's slogan "Gagawin kong Makati ang buong Pilipinas" was certainly enticing, but I was more impressed by Bayani Fernando. Really. WHY HIM? (yeah, it's too late) ;)


3. That Erap came in second. I did not see this coming. I seriously thought people would learn from their mistakes. Remember, the Philippines deserves the best. And he is not the best.

4. That the media misuse their powers. Don't you ever feel the media is just manipulating you to think what they want you to think? I hope we remember the fact that we can think for ourselves and not be so gullible to everything that is fed to us.

5. That many people still choose to be ignorant and/or apathetic. Ignorance and apathy is a deadly combination. I mean, they were already deadly alone, what more when they're combined?

6. That candidates think that it's normal to buy votes. A candidate threw a big party a day before the election and proceeded to bribe those attending with 3K to vote for him. How lucky for the attendees.

7. That a vote can cost as low as a rice coupon/ 1 kilo of rice. And some will settle for that.

8. That the incumbent president ran for Congress and won, despite how foolish that would look.


9. That Imelda Marcos also won a seat in Congress through the votes of the same people who kicked her out of Malacañang about two decades ago.


10. That though the people "chose" a president that is "not corrupt", they still voted for corrupt people on other positions.

The major disappointment is,I realized how dirty politics really is. I was surprised that my parents talked of vote buying as if it was nothing. It's like a common part of the elections and how sick is that? The day before the elections, many candidates for our local positions bought votes through rice coupons and cash, as if they were expected to show up on the poor sectors and buy votes. Just thinking about it makes me sick. How are we ever going to change our country into something great if we started it by doing something so low? Call it my naiveté talking, but if someone deserves to win, they will win without having to go through the "tradition" of vote-buying. And the worst thing is, people sell their votes.

I am torn between being frustrated of how stupid people can sometimes be, and compliant acceptance that this is what we are which we have to live and work with. But I'm so stubborn as to feel and hope that there's more to this. The Philippines is such a rich country. It has loving people, fertile lands, beautiful landscapes. And yet, 80% are on the poverty line. Children can't enjoy what they deserve. It hurts me the most that what our children will most likely inherit is a wasteland, instead of the rich land that we should be striving for today. Seriously, do people look at their children and think, "my child deserves a better world than I live in"?.Of course, I'm saying that without disregarding other people's children.

At the start of the elections, it was in the air: people are sick and tired of being screwed over.  We are ready for change, it's just a question of whether we have the guts to seize that opportunity to change. With the way things have turned out, seems like we didn't have the guts?

I really love this ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILLIPINES. It was written by Jaeyoun Kim, a Korean, as a sort of wake up call to Filipinos. Love this country. But one thing has to be noted: the Korean president who strived to make Korea a great country was selfless and only wished for Korea's well-being. I wish our officials are the same way: compassionate about their people and live up to their position, which was created to serve the people and not their pockets.One person alone cannot save us. It has to be a collective effort. I really hope that we throw away our apathy, and start working together for the future.