A Time to Remember

All the candidacy pronouncements, retractions, and indecisiveness for the past several weeks have been dizzying, to say the least, for the voting population of Pangasinan.

Just to cite a couple of examples, there’s retired Philippine National Police Chief Arturo Lomibao, who earlier said he is 99.99% sure of competing for the congressional seat in the 4th district of Pangasinan and has already resigned from his appointed post as chief of the National Irrigation Administration to prepare for his bid, has suddenly announced on Wednesday that he is no longer pursuing his political plan. Undersecretary for Local Governance Antonio Villar Jr., dubbed as the kingmaker of the province and one of the closest collaborators of President Gloria Arroyo, has also shelved his intent to run for governor. And it remains to be seen whether Pangasinan, a bailiwick of the Arroyo’s ruling Lakas coalition, will be declared a free zone for the provincial top post as three contenders, all allies of the administration, remain firm on putting up a fight.

Thank goodness by the end of this week, with the March 29 deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy for local positions, we will finally see who will be on the final list of aspirants – well, more or less as there could very well still be withdrawals or substitutions later on – from whom us voters will be making our choices.

But of course before making those crucial choices on May 14, we will have to go through the even more bewildering period of official campaigning. And before we get caught in all the frenzy, let’s try to put things in perspective.

The campaign period is courtship season.

Reelectionists and old hands seeking a new place of duty must tell us why we should allow them to hold public office again. This is a time for remembering. Have they proven their worth for our precious vote by valid service and a genuine concern to make things better for the constituency?

For first-timers, whether new faces or familiar characters by association or fame, they have the heavier burden of convincing us that they are at least capable if not experienced in addressing matters significant to the lives of the people. This is a time for assessing.  Are they worth the risk of granting authority to an untested servant?

The Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), a non-government and non-partisan organization that aims to serve as a pioneering organization for the democratization of governance and the empowerment of the citizenry through parliamentary and electoral struggles, has recently said that based on their researches, the Filipino voter  has actually matured over the last decade. Mere popularity was the number one factor for voter choices in 1995; but now, the electorate has put a top premium on the benefit factor, meaning voters are looking at the candidate’s character and capability in relation to public service.

Let us prove that IPER’s studies are, indeed, true.

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