Above self

Ruffy Magbanua

ONLY  a catnap away, the Filipino electorate will soon troop to Comelec-designated  precincts nationwide to elect presidential candidates worthy to serve this country the Rotary way – service above self.

This sounds a tall order for the five presidential aspirants seeking the highest position of the land.

By now, their mantra of governance,  heard loud and clear during the concluding town hall presidential debate held last Sunday  in Pangasinan,  serves as the meter stick to which discerning voters will anchor their decision whom to choose from among the “presidentiables.”

Are we for Roxas who twits the matuwid na daan of PNoy? Are we for Binay who boasts of making this country like Makati?

Or are we ready for Grace Poe whose American husband may become a spy inside Malacanang?

Are we for Defensor-Santiago who’s got a great mind, but a certified physical weakling? Or are we comfortable with the tough-talking Duterte?

As a Mindanaoan, your choice is as good as mine.

At the local front, we have ex-mayor Dongkoy Emano who is nursing a bad health due to excessive smoking. His flock of die-hards dwindling, Dongkoy may withdraw last minute and according to insiders, may support incumbent mayor Oca Moreno.

Why Oca? The grand plan, leaked during a private dinner and passed on like hot cakes, is to push for the win of Dongkoy protégé  incumbent Vice Mayor Ian Acenas, and eventually take over as city mayor in the event Moreno, if he wins the second time around, is unseated because of the Ajinomoto case.

And adding insult to injury, Moreno, a corporate lawyer turned traditional politician, has weakened  his political grip, losing  his band of advisers and a throng of followers the day he acted the  Casanova of modern times.

On the other side of the fence, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, after a prolific stint in Congress, had thrown his hat at the local politics. Dynamic and sharp-witted, Rufus may end up the next city mayor of Cagayan de Oro.

If elected, Rufus will face a mountain-load of Moreno-cough up problems: drugs,  petty crimes, uncollected garbage, the irksome traffic, unpaved roads, unlighted streets, and a string of issues and concerns that need immediate surgical operation to make this city livable and attractive to investments.

And talking of investments, there is no such thing as free ride to economic and political stability. The road to progress  is no longer less travelled. It is now crowded with global players hungry of competition and dominance.

This electoral process, though sensitive and costly, serves as the engine  to power  the country’s journey en route to the fiefdom of  the emerging economic tigers of Asia.

With leaders who think of service beyond anything else, there is no reason  to fail this time. As the good saying goes:  If we fail to act, then we are acting to fail.

A wise vote is not necessarily an intelligent vote. A  discerning mind is what we need to be able to decide whom to vote. If dirty money comes too hot and tempting, ponder for a while and think of bad karma.

A discerning vote will give us six good years of good governance. A vote because of easy money is  corruption redux. Let our voice be heard.

Vox populi, vox dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God.