Skip to main content

A vote for the future



AS THE MAY general elections creeps in, the Filipino peoples are once again faced with the decision that could make or break the future. From the President down to sanggunian members, we all stare down the choice on whom to believe in; and whom to entrust not only our future but more so the future of our children.
 
As it is, this 2016 election has brought out the best and worst in most of us. And as emotionally charged as the atmosphere has become, we all need to keep our wits about; otherwise we may either utter or do things that we will end up regretting. It is true that most of us have already made our choices on who to vote for. But this should not embolden us to bully and threaten others who made different choices. Respect for other people’s rights have been eroded severely by this election season. And for all it’s worth, it only gave the world a glimpse of how immature, petty and thuggery-inclined we have become. The choices each of us made is our own; and nobody should bully or threaten us for those choices.

The sordid situation this year’s elections gave us is the fact that some of us are willing to stoop well below acceptable actuations just to campaign for our chosen candidate. Some supporters have even gone to the extent of wishing rape and murder to those who oppose their candidate. And this is the candidate who boasts of eliminating crime in his first three to six months in office. Sadly, his supporters seem to misunderstand his message of bringing peace and order to the fore as they are inclined to wish and foist criminality on those who do not jump in their bandwagon. As it is, there is a major disconnect between the candidate and his supporters. The candidate wishes to end crime; while the supporters wish crime on others who do not share their beliefs.

This year’s elections are not only a confidence vote on those who are running for reelection or for those stepping down who anointed specific candidates. It is more so a vote for the future of this country.

If we oversimplify the complex, we will not end up with a simple problem; rather we would end up with a more complex situation. This year’s elections are not simply about slogans or motherhood statements; it about the future. And it is clearly about building more on the foundation of the progress and development we have so far achieved.

Critics and detractors of the current administration can cry and rant about all negative issues. But these could not really hide the fact of the giant strides the country has made in terms of the country’s financial standings globally. They could also rant and rave about poverty and inequality, but they also moan about traffic—a problem brought about by the huge number of private vehicles clogging the roads. And this only proves the fact that more Filipinos now own their own cars—a clear sign of progress which some completely ignore.

There are other clear indications this country has really started to move forward. We could either ignore—and enjoy them—or acknowledge them—and start doing our part to further move us all forward.

And on May 9, we will all decide whether we would like to continue enjoying the progress and freedom we have today—or bet it all on sound bites, gutter language, and unpatriotic candidates.


The future is now.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd  of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become an annua

PIDS expert says income tax cuts justified; warns gov’t of revenue loss

Proposals to amend the personal income tax schedule appear to be well-justified. However, these proposals should include measures that will allow government to recover the revenue loss from lower income taxes. Dr. Rosario Manasan, senior research fellow of state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said at a seminar sponsored by the Philippine Senate, that government should look for new revenue measures to compensate for the projected revenue loss that will arise as a result of the implementation of any of the various proposals to restructure the personal income tax. Currently, there are several income tax reform proposals pending in both houses of Congress. All of them, according to Dr. Manasan, have the same objective of addressing the phenomenon of bracket creep, which results from “non-indexation to inflation of personal income tax brackets”. Simply put, bracket creep occurs when employees’ income increases over time as a result of inflation. Th

PGIN honors Ilocano heroes of past, present through Heroes Walk

SPO1 Allan Lampitoc Franco of Banna, Ilocos Norte and PO2 Jovalyn D. Lozano of Adams, Ilocos Norte receive a resolution of commendation, a certificate of college scholarship grant to their family members and a P20,000 cash incentive each from the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte represented by Governor Imee R. Marcos and Vice Governor Angelo M. Barba in recognition of their bravery and heroic acts in the Mamasapano clash in Maguindanao on January 25. Mr. Franco and Mr. Lozano were recognized on March 10 in time for the unveiling of the second batch of Ilocano heroes at the Heroes Walk located along the Sirib Mile in Laoag City.  (Lei Adriano) By Jennifer T. Pambid PGIN-CMO In honor of the heroes who brought freedom, fame and glory to the province as well as to the country in the past century, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) through the Education Department and Sirib Youth Office launched the second batch of Ilocano Heroes Walk on March 10, 2015.