Choose Wisely
When I saw the list of personalities who wanted to run for election from councilor to senator, I internally screamed “Putangina, ano ba kaya i-ambag nang mga yan?”. I almost mute the word “election” on twitter so I can stop seeing about it. I stopped using my phone for a while. I’ve been here before. We’ve been here before during the last presidential election and one thing I won’t ever do again is shutting my mouth off.
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This is just the start of filing for candidacy. Things will get worse. This is just the tip of an iceberg. The upcoming election will be one of the world’s biggest elections due to the battle between the Marcoses and the Dutertes (Lema & Flores, 2024). It would be such a shame for us, the opposing voices, to believe one of those parties are deserving of the votes of the Filipinos.
Our votes will still be the determiner of the future of our country. As Jodi Sta. Maria tweeted earlier today, “We may not have control over who runs for public office, but our strength lies in wisely choosing those deserving of our trust.”
I fear our strength doesn’t just end there. With our voices, patience, and understanding, we can also educate Filipinos who are lost with whom they will vote for. While I understand Filipinos can easily get misinformed and think ill of people, I also believe at least 6 out of 10 are able to understand better if informed the right way.
I hope we use our platform not to fight people on the internet just because you think you know better. Educate. Make them understand how their vote determines the future of the country and its countrymen. I hope we choose to listen to them to understand where they are coming from instead of listening to them crush their argument and humiliate them. It is easy to comment “BOBO” or 8080 in posts and videos that speak of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation, but it will be easier to invest time to explain and educate if you can get better governance in the near future.
