Today’s politicians and their kin are distracted. We have less than two months before elections and the campaign season for national positions is in full swing. Campaigning for local posts is starting in a few days.
A good part of the news is devoted to what each candidate is up to – small successes, outright mischief. Social media antics are par for the course – more for some than others. It’s difficult to not get sucked into the circus that is the elections. Thoughts of who our next leader might be distract us from more immediate concerns.
But even as we are looking ahead, we are buffeted by one crisis after another. First there is the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite the relaxing of restrictions, it’s never going away. There is the economic fallout as a result of our protracted lockdowns. Challenges in education brought about by the abrupt shift to online or modular learning. And now we have to contend with higher prices, not just of fuel or electricity, but of practically everything.
These are gut issues that will not wait for the next leader of the land to be sworn in. Whoever wins or loses, Filipinos still have to get up every morning and earn some money to sustain their families.
So by all means let us listen to how the candidates say they would govern if they win. Let us take stock of their platforms, their demeanor and manner of speaking, the substance of their statements and the willingness to take responsibility for their actions. Let us evaluate them based on the standards we have set in respect for ourselves and in love for our country.
But let us not forget, in these last days of the terms of the incumbent officials, to look at what they have been doing to address our present concerns. Even if they are at the tail end of their service, their pact with their constituents remains in force. The people should not wait for the next set of leaders to make things right, or better. We need to see decisive action still, today and in the next few weeks, with the same zeal as our officials had during their first days in office. And we will just as zealously hold them accountable if they fall short of their mandate.