I just officially cast my vote for the national and local Philippine elections.
The stain of indelible ink on my right index finger shows that I'm not only done voting but I am now responsible for whatever happens to my country in the next 6 years. Whether my vote helped the rightful candidate for the position, or my vote could have been one of the votes wasted on Candidate A when Candidate B supposed to have been the most deserving candidate to win. Nevertheless, my vote itself, whether it be for Candidate A, B or C, is not a wasted vote since it is a vote not recklessly done, not chosen out of randomness but rather it is a vote backed up by reasons and a rational belief for that candidate -that I have fully exercised by democratic right to vote. I remembered these past days when I couldn't seem to focus on my subjects for the upcoming long tests since I was itching to watch presidential forums, read articles of journalists that backed up their chosen candidates and browse through each of the candidates' websites for their platforms, views and other issues. Unfortunately, one weekend wasn't really enough to prepare myself for my 1st participation of the elections. I could have started way back, then I could have covered more articles and watched more debates and forums. If I had done it, I should have been able to study for my Finance long test this upcoming Friday. Bless me.
Being an active Facebook user myself, I could see the passion of my friends for their prospective candidates. They are using their online profiles to make their voices heard to the virtual / online community. Either they attach a Twibbon on their profile photos so people could visibly see their chosen candidates with ease or they simply make their candidates' names their statuses for the day. And without doubt, it is clear as glass that Facebook users -the teen, the tech-savvy and the young adults born in the digital generation -that they favor Gibo Teodoro over other candidates. Next to him is Dick Gordon and unfortunately but expected, Noynoy Aquino in the 3rd place. He doesn't seem to be appealing to the online community. The SWS and outside surveys scream for Aquino's name, but not in the online community.
I honestly have no problem with these candidates - Aquino, Gordon and Teodoro -since out of all the candidates these three are the most promising and most fit for the job. But since Philippines doesn't use the preferential voting type of ballot (where you rank your candidates) nor can you choose 3 candidates for a position, then here comes the stress and pressure of narrowing down your choice into one.
MANNY VILLAR. Look at his scandals (C-5 extensions) and blooming businesses - Villar is the richest among all the candidates in terms of net worth. Does he really want to be a politician? He can just quit and focus on being a businessman., just so he knows. Conflict of interests. Businessmen only care about profits and politicians, well, they're supposed to care for their people. Also, seeing how he spent millions for his ads already cost him to lose my vote. Rich boy, huh?
JOSEPH ESTRADA. DUH. Even though I find his answers to the presidential forums amusing, with the wit of a comedian, (not of a politician) he still ain't worth it.
GIBO TEODORO. If being the president is all about being smart and being the one with the best academic credentials, then my vote undoubtedly goes to him. Bar topnotcher, Harvard graduate --whoah these words ring a bell. Which is why I don't blame majority of the teen community if ever they go for him. He is every student's benchmark, the epitome of academic excellence. I also admire him, if you ask me. He has good platforms and his facade alone is everyone's idea of an effective president. As they say, "marunong din siyang pumorma." Yet despite this outstanding record, his ties with PGMA and his reaction to the Maguindanao Massacre and Ondoy doesn't seem appealing to me. I think this is enough for me to rule him out of my choice for this elections.
DICK GORDON. If Gibo's academic achievement made his name "mabango" to the voting community (especially the youth), then Gordon's "extra-curricular" achievements would be his great asset. Compare his credentials to other candidates and you would say Gordon gets your vote. But boy, this guy's got attitude -which kinda discouraged me from giving my vote to him. If you compare this to a high school setting, Gordon would be the kind of class president who is most qualified yet who is such a bitch and a show-off that you end up not voting for him, no matter how qualified he is. His name says it all :)))
NOYNOY AQUINO. I feel bad for him every time I open my Facebook account and see almost all of my friends' negative statuses for Noynoy, not to mention the Facebook pages Noynoy haters created. I'm disappointed with my friends who bash him because he doesn't deserve to win, being a "bummer" in the Senate and all. Not to mention my friends attacking the polls and surveys, saying that it was manipulated just because Aquino led the polls while their popular bets, Gordon and Gibo, were way behind. But one thing that actually kind of pissed me off is when they say that people vote for him because they are swayed by the statistics that it isn't true and not because of him as a qualified person for the job -which make them unwise voters. And yeah, I know some close unwise voters in this case. To begin with, I'm still undecided and I had no inclinations to one person or another, not even to the "Yellow King". Yet the way how my generation reacts to the candidates, and especially to Aquino, makes me wanna know more about them, especially Aquino.
And yeah, as I come to think of it, only Gibo and Gordon don't seem to have any Haters' Facebook page :)) Friends, are they really that good enough?
The person who gets my vote is someone who has the personal qualities and virtue that screams that one way or another, corruption is not his thing. The person who gets my vote is someone who doesn't strut in the streets like an ideal curriculum vitae yet deep inside his persona got the better of him which makes you wanna think twice. The person who gets my vote is someone whom I'm confident won't taint the legacy and reputation of his parents who happen to be historical figures and thus he would make sure that he won't perform just like any other stereotypical Philippine president. Almost all presidents aim to uphold themselves and their achievements, but it isn't everyday that you see a candidate aiming to uphold his values and to keep his moral compass clean.
FYI, the person who gets my vote also did something. I'm not stupid enough to vote someone just because he has awesome parents :|
Yes, I'm willing to be the outlier of my generation for this year's elections. (together with the few but good portion of the youth. Making my candidate's name my status for the day? Save it, if only there was a dislike button :))
Three things are sure:
1. Facebook users and the online community love Gibo and Gordon. I CAN'T SEE A SINGLE HATERS' PAGE OF THEM :))))
2. After 6 years, either Noynoy Aquino have successfully uphold his name and his values or my generation was right all along. btw, i have no problem with Gibo and Gordon winning.
3. For 2010, my vote goes to the Yellow King.
Cool beans from 7/11 which also serve as surveys:D
