Manny Valdehuesa NOT enough is being done to transform the values of the community, individually or collectively. The transformative value of a vote, for example, needs more focus and more affirmation. Not enough is said about how powerful an instrument is a vote; that it can make or unmake a person; that it can create or terminate an office; or that it can establish or disestablish a government. As a transformative instrument, a vote affects society in ways positive and negative, creating desirable policy or rejecting unacceptable thrusts. A vote transforms a private citizen into a public official. It confers special powers and privileges upon a plain citizen, vesting him with great responsibility. The well-being or destiny of a community is determined by votes of its citizens. If votes are well-considered and cast in support of competent, sincere, honest, and devoted candidates, the community benefits greatly. Competent, sincere, and honest officials created by the votes produce inestimable benefits for community and society. But deficient public officials are a liability to the community. Vain and insecure ones create stress and disharmony, consumed by desire to be more than they are to the public eye. Votes cast for the wrong person may drive the same person into greater depths of vanity and artifice, turning him arrogant and dishonest: a misleader, not a leader. A well-considered vote can produce a statesman while a misguided one can lead a flawed politico to commit anti-social acts including plunder. Only a thin line separates a leader and a misleader, and their effect can make a lot of difference to the community. The privilege conferred by a misguided vote can damage the community, the government, and the whole of society. People need to be aware of what their vote can do, what events it can precipitate. For it is like a power-of-attorney; it authorizes someone to act on behalf of everyone in handling delicate public issues and in tackling a myriad of public affairs. It’s an elementary lesson, but not everyone is aware that electing someone to an executive post—like barangay chairman or mayor—empowers him to obtain a bank loan or spend the community’s money for various purposes. A punong barangay can borrow money to construct a building or playground or sell barangay property. A mayor can erect a school or hospital or finance a social service program. And so can a provincial governor. In other words, a vote’s empowering attribute is not well apprehended or understood; that in fact it can be used for good or bad ends. It may be stating the obvious, but it can never be over-emphasized that a simple vote can ennoble a deserving citizen, or corrupt another who is undeserving.