Why Oh Why Are We Ruled By These People?

Watching the US Presidential Debate the other night got me thinking about politics in the Philippines. Although watching the third debate between Bush and Kerry is like seeing the third cycle of a looped message, if one can get over the usual politician's b.s. at least the discussion was framed by the issues. The same cannot be said of Philippine politics, where the level of debate fails to rise above personality and popularity. The Philippine Senate and their counterparts in the House of Representatives instead of focusing on policy issues that would help move the country forward is prone to so-called "investigations in aid of legislation." Every election cycle, hundreds of people run for national office in the Philippines that such grandstanding acts are rational as they jockey for some level of name recall with the voters.

I don't know how Philippine Politics can rise above the equilibrium it is in today. Most voters are resigned to getting the most they can from politicians during the campaign period knowing that they would probably not see them again until the next election. They sell their votes in exchange for instant short-term favors given by the candidate. I want to believe that a vote can be a tool for change. Perhaps when voters start considering their votes as investments rather than a tool for short-term consumption things will change. The temptation to eat the fruit instead of saving and waiting for the seed to grow is a hard one to resist.