Organizing for political forums

A GOOD number of universities have opened their doors for the hosting of political forums in their campuses in line with the May 10 election.

Cheers to Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU), Pangasinan State University (PSU), University of Luzon, Pangasinan State University and the University of Pangasinan-PHINMA. Hopefully, their initiative will influence other universities and colleges in the province to do the same. If local colleges may not have the facility, the plaza would still make an ideal venue provided the format is controlled by neutral groups.

With the venues settled, members of the academe in these institutions must now join hands with school clubs, student organizations, civic and professional groups, and non-government organizations for the task of setting up the forums. Together, these groups will be key in raising the level of campaigning, especially for the local government positions.

Among the priority topics for discussion should be corruption, health and environment. The forums should be set up in dialogue format wherein both the candidates and the audience will have a chance to speak and ask questions as the aim would be two-pronged: educate the voters and alert the candidates. The series of forums must be open to all sectors, particularly media, and preferably on a town-by-town (or by city) basis, which will allow for a closer encounter between local voters and their candidates.

The voting population, among them students, would benefit from these forums by learning more about the candidates and be able to make an informed evaluation of who best to vote for. And the electorate, in turn, can echo the information they have learned to other voting members of their circle of relatives and friends. At the same time, the participants will also be able to communicate to the candidates what they demand from government.

On the other end, the exercise will help candidates internalize what the electorate expects from them. Instead of simply making pronouncements and delivering well-worn speeches, those running for public office will have the chance to better understand what their communities really need and want. By attending these forums, the candidates will also be able to show proof that they have sincere intents for public service and are not running simply to grab power.

The political forums, as the heads of the academic institutions put it, will serve as campaign “battle grounds” where at the end of the day, both the voters and the worthy candidates will emerge as winners.

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