By Dr. Dennis Acop
I saw this excellent quote from a guy named Frank Herbert who wrote: ‘Good governance never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders’. In my random conversations with people across all walks of life including the most vulnerable, I am actually hearing many if not most who say that they do not want to receive dole-outs from traditional politicians in exchange for their votes. Some would even say that the political issues today are so serious that they would rather see a free Philippines than one that is subjugated to Communist China. I therefore digress from the common belief that the poor are only concerned with gut issues and care less about anything more.
I wish to discuss a few points to help process this digressing voter reaction among the poor. First, as i just pointed out the poor are indeed vulnerable but even hunger does not necessarily mean the poor are all stupid. For one, the EJKs, blatant Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, bumbling pandemic management, and loss of livelihood (not to mention non-existent or easily-diminishing ‘ayuda’) are all fresh in the consciousness of our poor that many among them actually hate this current government of ours. No pretentious dole-outs from this administration can win them over now because they can see right through the self-serving machinations they are made to go through. Plus, they are so used to these by now that they just know. That is why even that ad by the Villars just made me laugh in annoyance. The point i am trying to make is that a lot of traditional politicians will be in for a big surprise and disappointment as a significant chunk among the poor are not falling for the trap laid out in front of them this time around.
Second, replies i got from some destitute people which surprised me was that they said once they receive the dole-out they can no longer expect any public service from the politician they got it from because his underlings would say ‘nabayaran na kayo’ (you already got paid!’). What he said really disturbed me because it illustrated how traditional politics treat the poor as vote-getting commodities whose public service worth is a mere PHP1,000 or so dole-out. The good thing is that our poor (or at least a significant portion of them) is no longer biting. Like i said, people are not necessarily dumb just because they are poor and vulnerable.
Third, the pandemic and the lies of the government have made the poor (the people in general really) more spiritually righteous about their sovereign right to vote according to conscience. They now better see traditional politicians for what they truly are —just out to win their votes to the extent of lying to them and telling them just what they want to hear. A classic example is the fisherman to whom candidate Duterte then promised to fight for by leading us against China riding a jetski! Beaten down to the floor by the unprecedented pandemic, losing their jobs, and their health, many among even our poor have come to the realization that just doing the right thing feels better than selling one’s soul to the devil just for a few pesos. Try talking to one of our poor one of these days and you will see what I mean.
Fourth, our people (the poor included) are therefore very much open to having political leaders who will have more to genuinely offer them than mere dole-outs or promises. They have learned their lesson. Even the DEF segments now know the difference between popular candidates who are non-performing dead-woods in the actual arena of public service delivery and non-entertainer candidates with better credentials who understand the arts and sciences in support of public policy formulation and implementation. There will always be exceptions of course. But the grassroots data is significant as it is promising. Selling one’s vote is no longer a boon. But more of a bane. And it is the poor saying it.