By Atty. Howie Calleja
Dewey in his book “The Public and Its Problems “(1927) acknowledges the significance of policy experts, but he also argues that popular participation in government is necessary to uncover the problems we collectively face because experts will be too removed from the public to clearly see the problems people confront. “The man who wears the shoe knows best that it pinches and where it pinches, even if the expert shoemaker is the best judge of how the trouble is to be remedied”.
Our Philippine electoral arena has developed in a variety of situational realities that confuse the way we appreciate our ethical values during elections. All that has been discussed in my past articles point to the lack of patriotism or “Pagmamahal sa Bayan” among politicians and some of our compatriots as well. It is therefore along this line of thinking that Filipinos whose Democracy was born out of the blood of heroes, are engaged with a moral question for the 2022 Polls, “Why should I register and participate in our upcoming national and local elections?” Well, here are some reasons I want each one of us to ponder:
It is through Our Vote that Good Governance begins. It is when WE conscientiously choose responsible leaders that WE contribute to good governance. It is when WE allow ourselves to be intimidated, bought or coerced that WE lose that right to be a citizen of our country. Voting the right way and for the good candidates enhances our right to suffrage and attests of our responsibility for our future and the future of our country.
Protecting Our Vote is an Integral Part of Patriotism. Our vote, though it is a singular one is a lucrative attraction to politicians’ desire to be elected at all cost thereby exposing us to the dangers of “guns, goons and gold”. It is in this light that bravery comes as a virtue. It is when we cowardly succumb to intimidation that we contribute to the perennial and blatant fraud permeating the country. It is when we protect this vote that others see its importance and are inspired to do the same. And that makes such an integral part of heroism.
Our Vote is a Responsibility to Our Country. It is when WE vote that WE participate in Nation Building because it is the leader, WE choose that shall direct us to such a noble task. It is a great responsibility for me to choose the best candidate for the job. It is when WE fail to conscientiously choose the better leader that WE also fail in our responsibility. We are therefore impelled to make the right choice and to vote if we are to belong to the movers of moral transformation. In the end, we are Filipino Citizens responsible for the betterment of our country – the Philippines.
Finally, OUR VOTERS’ REGISTRY IS THE SYMBOL OF OUR UNITY. It is only be registering that you can join in “our good fight” to win back our lost democracy by electing once again worthy men and women who will help us regain what we lost in the past 6 years which was marred by the lack of statesmanship, corruption and disloyalty to our constitution; and it is only through a United and inclusive Philippines that we can lift our nation out of this pandemic and out of this failed Duterte administration.
Cognizant of this need to encourage more voters’ registration, the 1SAMBAYAN Coalition and other civic organizations continue to appeal for COMELEC to extend the voters’ registration till the end of September 2021. These are extraordinary times brought about our current COVID-19 Health Crisis; and such a situation equally demands that we adopt more flexibility in ensuring that more eligible and willing voters participate in our upcoming polls. Now more than ever we need to guarantee that their voices are heard.
