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Batas Mauricio

SO, finally, a survey firm is debunking claims that President Aquino and his government continue to enjoy the trust and confidence of Filipinos. The stinging rebuke came from EON, a public relations firm, which came out with its 2015 survey results called Philippine Trust Index the other day.

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The results showed that the trust rating of Aquino and his government among Filipinos in general went down by as much as 11 percentage points, while among those who graduated from college, the trust rating of both Aquino and his government fell by as much as 15 percentage points, when compared with results from surveys in 2012.

“Filipinos largely believe that the government is unable to succeed in meeting these different criteria for trust. Only 23 percent of the general public strongly agree that the government is able to ensure peace and security, while only 22 percent agree that the government helps the poor address their basic needs,” the report said.

Many view these survey results as having a tremendous impact on the results of the 2016 elections. The fact is that, even now, Malacanang and its propagandists are desperately pushing the idea that Aquino and his government continue to enjoy the people’s trust and confidence and that a great number of our countrymen continue to be satisfied with his “righteous governance” mantra.

The reason is clear: Malacanang, Aquino, and its candidates in the 2016 elections would want everybody to believe that Aquino’s endorsement of the candidates will work magic and could still propel the candidates to victory, despite the glaring truth that they are lagging far behind as people’s choices.

The intent is to hoodwink people into accepting whatever elections results their puppets at the Commission on Elections will come up with, even if those results will largely be on account of a computer manipulation that was put to work in the 2010 and 2013 elections, if election watchdogs are to be believed.

Indeed, as Jesus, our God and Savior, said in John 8:31-32 of the Holy Bible, the truth shall set all of us free. The truth about Aquino and his government’s lost trust and satisfaction ratings among Filipinos, as exposed by EON’s Philippine Trust Index, can only set us free from sinister plans to rig the 2016 elections.

The EON survey results should also serve as a warning to those intending to sabotage the coming presidential elections that the real sentiment of the people is to reject claims about so-called gains of “daang matuwid”, and that Filipinos are now clearly rejecting these claims may not peaceably accept any result that contravenes their choice.

Undeniably, an overwhelming number of Filipinos are already mad at the bumblings and incompetence of Aquino and his officials, including his candidates in the 2016 elections. An election result showing the victory of his candidates will surely be a big farce, and could spark widespread violence.

There are unusual names among those who want to be senator but who I am going to vote for in 2016. First on my list is Alberto Ong Jr., a Rotarian who served, together with me, as Club President for Rotary Year 2011-2012.

I can certify that Ong or Albert to us his fellow Rotarians, fully qualifies as a senator of the Republic, especially one that serves with utmost dedication. Then, I also have another Alberto, a guy named Alberto Rojo, a fellow member of several Facebook groups, whose children are now successful professionals.

If only because Rojo has proven himself as a good father of his family, he deserves to be elected senator, although he has plenty of good ideas about real change for the Philippines. Then, there is also a fellow Tarlacqueno, Manny SD Lopez, who also would make a good senator, with disaster planning as advocacy. There are more, of course, and I will endeavor to list their names here later.

The only problem for these friends of mine, of course, is how to make Filipino voters remember their names come election day. I have seen other good candidates for senator in the past who failed to even make a dent among the voters, simply because of the exorbitant price of publicizing themselves.

I particularly remember the late Frank Chavez, one of the brightest lawyers the UP College of Law ever produced and one of best solicitor generals the country ever had. He was more than qualified, had his fair share of bountiful campaign funds, yet lost in the Raul Roco ticket in 2004, principally because many voters did not know he was even running.

Indeed, when one wants to run for any national position in this country, it would do well for him to either dabble in media beforehand, particularly radio and TV, or appear, even if in cameo roles only, in TV and movie shows. This is the only way to make people remember a candidate, long before he even runs for office.

This is largely due to the inexplicable propensity of Filipino voters to vote for celebrities, rather than those with sound and solid platforms of governance. When one is famous, he is a sure winner in any given political contest, barring major scandals. In almost 100 percent of the time, celebrities from the movie and TV kingdoms, and from sports as well, never lose a political run, even when they have nothing to offer but their popularity.

What can we do to change this mindset of Filipino voters? Let us push for their spiritual enlightenment and growth with robust Bible studies and prayer sessions. This is the only kind of change––spiritual change, that is––that can really transform a person, away from his reckless lifestyle, to become an individual who values God’s guidance in his everyday life.

If we can make Filipinos more conscious of God’s spirituality through His Word, the Bible, I am sure we will all learn that the true leader who will sacrifice and really serve his constituents is the leader who fears and loves God at all times, even when no one is looking.

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com

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