It’s not easy

Egay Uy .

IF I ran for public office in the recently concluded elections, I would have opted to be prudent with my statements during the campaign. I would have avoided accusing opponents of any wrongdoing.  Instead, I would have strived hard to convince the electorate that voting for me will mean better governance and visible delivery of basic public services, mostly through sound legislation because I would have run to become a member of the legislative branch.

I am no saint, just like everybody else. Along the way, it would have been possible for me to break what I would have wanted to do – be fair and square in the campaign. But anchoring my blitz with negative campaigning will not be the order of the day for me.

And definitely, I would not have said that it will be the people’s loss if I did not win in the elections. With certainty, I will not have imputed malicious lies and baseless accusations against opposing candidates because if I did that, can I still look people in the eye for being a loose cannon and later a sore loser?

Those who started their campaign with the right foot but somehow lost sight of their campaign strategy and went ballistics against opposing candidates instead of convincing voters to elect them, and those who literally started their campaign with the wrong foot, may now be looking back and wondering what went wrong.

Why didn’t the people believe their negative campaign lies and malicious lines? Why didn’t they muster enough votes to unseat opponents? Why did their strategies fail them and caused their political maneuvers to fall like water-filled balloons that burst as they are dropped on the ground? Will their supporters and party workers continue to live the lie?

They may have to seriously consider finding solutions to their campaign woes.

***

During the flag-raising ceremony last Monday, incumbent and reelected Mayor Oscar Moreno emphatically recalled the lessons he learned during their handshaking rounds.

In most areas, handshaking rounds became thanksgiving meetings of sort.  People they shook hands with would randomly say, salamat kay sementado na among dalan, salamat sa eskwelahan nga naa na sa among barangay, salamat sa Philhealth nga among nagamit sa panahon sa panginahanglan, salamat sa maayo na nga serbisyo sa city hospital (JR Borja Memorial General Hospital), salamat sa flood control nga naplastar na.

The rounds were also a means for candidates to personally re-check and validate the situation on the ground. It was during these rounds that they get to meet almost everyone in the territory and got to see the real need of the constituency.

The rigors of the campaign’s handshaking activities and rallies also necessitated a well-kept physical condition. It was not easy going through the rounds twice a day which is capped with evening rallies.

Indeed, to offer one’s self to serve the public is not easy.

(Egay Uy is a lawyer. He chairs the City’s Regulatory and Complaint Board, co-chairs with the city mayor the City Price Coordinating Council, and chairs the city’s Joint Inspection Team.  He retired as a vice president of Cepalco.)