Who got my nod in the Philippine presidential derby when I cast my vote at the Philippine embassy in Seoul yesterday (April 16th)?

I don’t know… nobody knows (only the Man above), if I made the wrong choice. I would have a glimpse of the wrongness or rightness of my decision after 3 years. However, let me reserve my judgment on the performance of the President I chose in 2022.

My choice hinged on several premises.

I love my country and I am proud to be a Filipino. But my nationalism doesn’t make me blind not to accept the fact that majority of my countrymen lack discipline. They are abusive of the liberties that democracy bestowed them forgetting that with freedom comes responsibility.

That being said, my conscience dictated that I vote for a President capable of reminding the citizenry to exercise their freedom without disregarding the rule of law and to protect their dignity without trampling on somebody else’s.

The utter disregard for law by many in the Philippine has come to a point that sometimes there’s a need to resort to extra-judicial means in order to restore order and to promote justice. It sounds radical and it can be argued that that in itself is a “disregard of law.” But when democratic processes are failing and society is about to crumble somebody has to take the lead, put the law in his hands and restore order for the benefit of the majority.

We’ve got to choose between “honorable” thieves who, with money and influence, can play around the so-called “rule of law” and continue to ransack the national treasury and a leader who may disregard the rule of law when the situation calls for it so justice will be served and order in society be restored.

We’ve got to decide which kind of leader we want. Do you wish to have somebody who is afraid to restore death penalty because it is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church who, with a majority of the voters being Catholics, may campaign against him or her? Or would you rather have a Chief Executive who is not willing to give criminals a safe haven where they could freely ply their deadly and dangerous trades.

I decided to tick the box in the ballot opposite the name of the presidential candidate who will not babysit corrupt officials and criminals. I don’t care how that candidate would do it. For me, the only way to succeed against corruption and criminality is to use “iron hands.”

We need a President who can’t be manipulated by scheming politicians. He (yes… it’s a he I chose) must be a strong leader who will not bend to the whims and fancies of anybody and can’t be swayed by opinions when performing his duties.

That is the reason I voted for this President.

He has the capability to instill discipline in the different branches of government. The country needs a President whose strong presence would make public officials perform their constitutional duties to the best they can and at the same time avoid any wrongdoings… a leader who will bring back the essence of accountability in public service.

We need a leader not afraid to crack the whip against corrupt officials and send them to rut in jail, a leader who is not afraid to lock horns with the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and admonish them when they are deemed to be just spewing their saliva in endless debates and not taking actions on important legislation…a leader who will not have second thoughts to “interpret” the laws in manner he sees fit if he detects incompetence and complacency among his colleagues in the Judiciary.

The President I chose is unafraid to make unpopular decisions and try new things.

I want him to be President because he said he’ll try Federalism.

The Philippines has a unitary government where national and local affairs are controlled by the central or national leadership. Considering the socio-economic performance of the Philippines as a nation for the past decades, it is safe to say that the current form of government has failed.

For a geographically fragmented country inhabited by people belonging to different ethnolinguistic groups, Federalism may be a better form of government. It is said “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But it is! The system in place is defective therefore it must be replaced.

The one who earned my nod in the presidential derby said that Federalism will eliminate the problem of unfair distribution of funds between the local government and the national government and the decades-long Muslim insurgency in the North. And I believe him.

I want him to be the next President because it’s about time that the Philippines experience a meaningful change.

Change is coming!

Yes, my president is DUTERTE.