Voting for the First-Time? Things to Think About part 2

What values would you look for in a candidate?

Purity of intent to do good. This quality could be found in any individual, rich or poor, in any profession, anywhere. Aside from the internal control of the value, the lure of empowering one’s self in one’s political position could be overweighed if not eradicated.

Would you like a President who has excellent communication skills?

Nobody comes close to former President Marcos. Next to Ninoy. But somebody has yet to give messages in Filipino, make the ordinary Juan understand, and make him feel involved so he would be motivated to act and help make a better future for himself and the country. We have to seriously consider that our mass base speak the native tongue.

What about having a sense of humor?

Just read the Erap jokes while you keep the chamberlane on. But it will not make you think of Erap as having been a good President.

Should a presidential candidate be rich?

Campaign is expensive and if a candidate could afford to run for presidency, maybe he/she could refund after he wins. Wherefrom? It depends.

What about track record?

If we look at the long list most candidates place in their flyers, we could be overwhelmed. With how much they know, they could go around the system without being detected. But I hope they would just summarize and emphasize the significant contributions to family and community building and whatever else is relevant to the position they are seeking.

Could a President give a cure for or prevent corruption in the government?

I sure hope there’s a chamber of secrets for this and that we could all walk through the wall to find out. It looks like we need magic to destroy the rot. It’s hard since the root cause lies in the individual. Which means everybody has to do it, ideally at the same time.