(2nd of 4 parts)

We also need to exercise our right to vote seriously. Refusing to sell our votes is only the first step. It’s about time that we should also set certain standards that candidates should measure up to before we write their names in the ballot – standards that are over and beyond the qualifications set by our Constitution for candidates seeking a particular public office.

It’s time for us to realize also that some personalities are venturing into politics not because they want to serve the people but because they think that they are so popular and such popularity could easily catapult them into a public office. Power, like fame, is also addicting. Some of these famous people running for elective positions want to have both.

An interesting question to answer is, “How many showbiz and sports personalities holding public office now were elected not because they are both qualified and capable to lead but because they are popular?”

There are other questions that we need to answer as honestly as we should – “What did those actors, actresses, singers, TV personalities, basketball players, boxers, and other celebrities who used their popularity to win contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in the localities where they were elected?”  Those among them who were lucky to become President, Vice President, Senators or Congressmen (or were given cabinet posts), did they contribute anything to national development?” “What good if any did their ‘star power’ bring to politics and governance in the Philippines?”

If all those seasoned and veteran politicians who have master’s and doctorate degrees in law,  economics, political science, public administration, and business administration and have been in public service all their life could hardly move the needle forward on socio-economic development, what do we expect from showbiz,  media, and sports personalities who suddenly turned into politicians only because they are immensely popular and that they know that Filipino voters could easily be deceived.  Do they honestly think that the skills and knowledge needed  to run a public office can be acquired by taking  crash courses in leadership and management?

Sadly speaking, this is how politicians and celebrities-turned-politicians think of Filipino voters – they can not only be bought and but they are also unintelligent. Most of those running for public office consider the Filipino voters cheap and ignorant – cheap because they are willing to sell their votes for a small amount of cash and  ignorant because they don’t know how to choose the right candidate for a position.

Choosing the most qualified and capable among sets of candidates is not a rocket science. We can evaluate their qualifications corresponding to the position they are seeking. We can check their track record. We can hear them talk during the campaign period both in person and through any form of media. We can determine who among them are eloquent and could articulate their platform of government and who are dumb and merely banking on their popularity so they could get the support of unsuspecting voters or they have truckloads of money to buy votes. If we find those celebrities truly qualified, capable, and  sincere in their desire to serve this country and they are the best among the candidates vying for an elective position, then we should vote for them. But if upon examination of their credentials and background you’ll find nothing but their popularity, you’ve got to make the right decision – vote for the most qualified.

We have to separate the wheat from the chaff.  We need to exercise due diligence in distinguishing  the qualified and capable candidates from the pretenders.   Electing leaders unto whom we give the mandate to lead  – unto whom we pin our hopes for a better nation – is not  a game. Elections are not popularity contests.

Governance is a serious business and should be done on a full-time basis. One cannot be a public servant on a part-time basis who would attend to her/his duties and obligations only when there are no shooting sessions for movies and TV shows or there are no practices or games to play as athletes in any sport.

We should never entrust a public office to clowns.