Manny Valdehuesa
ELECTIONS come and go but no one and no political party—in our city or elsewhere—contributes to the political education of the citizenry, especially the masses.
If at all, efforts are launched too late and too little by well-meaning but ineffectual groups—usually just days or weeks before elections.
By then the damage is already done. Those who manipulate or corrupt the values and attitudes of people through propaganda and dishonest tactics will have already done a thorough job, including their defiant violations of election laws.
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The absence of political education, promoting and reaffirming values like honesty or morality, accounts for the persistence of corrupt practices that traditional politicians get away with during their campaign.
But nothing is done to address the problem. Too many people now think that corrupt practices like vote-buying, vote-selling, and cheating are part of normal politics.
It is no secret that both elderly and youthful voters not only tolerate such practices but exacerbate them by playing along in order to get a share of the loot. And of course the traditional politicians (trapos) fielded by the so-called parties, who are notorious for cheating and corruption, are jubilant.
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It is why there is no end in sight to these reprehensible practices. And the nefarious reign of trapos and their corrupt impact on the polity goes on and on. Something has got to be done to straighten out the system and the behavior that perpetuates it. There is no lack for lawyers, educators, churchmen, and other professionals in every community to address this pernicious problem.
There are numerous teaching institutions in the city. They must help lead the corrupt or corruptible sectors in the community out of the wilderness. And the corruptors and violators must be monitored, confronted, and firmly dealt with.
The so-called political parties should be confronted and held to task for not performing their role as society’s recruiting and screening mechanisms. Their failure accounts for the poor selection of candidates being offered to the voters. They have no business offering inferior material for leadership in the community! ‘
(Author of books on governance, Manny Valdehuesa is national chairman/convenor of Gising Barangay Movement Inc. E-mail: valdehuesa@gmail.com)
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