MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 21 April) – I never vote based on popularity or name recall. I vote based on who I think can do better in moving the country forward.
This requires looking into a candidate’s credentials, track record, stand on critical issues, and vision. Of course, the underlying interests and motives behind his/her running for public office must be examined, too.
Thus I voted for Nick Perlas in 2010 even if it was clear that he would lose. If I remember right, he obtained just around 50,000 votes nationwide. But so what? I voted based on principle and should feel no shame.
In 2016, I didn’t cast my vote because none of those running for president passed my criteria. Call me Utopian, I won’t mind.
For this year’s election, my choice for president has narrowed down to two candidates — Vice President Leni Robredo and Leody de Guzman.
Leni for her unblemished record as public official and exposure to grassroots issues owing to her previous involvement as an NGO worker. Leody for his clear commitment to the cause of the working class.
Of the two, Leni has the higher chance of winning. Yet, as cited above, I vote based not on statistics but on what the idealist in me whispers to my heart. My choice therefore may only be known on May 9.
The one I’d vote for may or may not win. If he/she wins, that would be a gift to this country benighted by graft, plunder, violations of basic rights, persecution of critical media, and other abuses.
But mind you, I’m never a fanatic for anybody. If my candidate wins and, for whatever reason, commits or condones/abets graft and other crimes and irregularities, I won’t hesitate to perform my duty as a citizen, never mind as a journalist, to call out and/or criticize such acts.
Nobody among the candidates is an angel, but I must add, that’s no excuse to vote for a Devil incarnate, either. You know who I mean.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com.)
