It’s now up to the voters

The candidates and the alignments in next month’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections are now known, with today being the last day to file the certificates of candidacy (COC). The noise we will hear next would come from the campaign trail. We will soon know in the next few days if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the police would identify any of the barangays in Cebu as election hot spots.

While Cebuanos are not known to resort to violence despite the sometimes intense political rivalry among local politicians, some areas do attract our attention, like in Cebu City where the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) and Barug Team Rama are battling for political ascendancy even if the barangay and SK elections are supposed to be non-partisan. Most of the open positions are being contested.

We need to monitor how the campaign and the balloting will be conducted not only for the possible breakout of violence but also for the maneuvering, which could include violating election rules. Even now, the talk revolves around electoral spending and if it should include setting aside money to buy votes and, if it does, how much is the going rate per voter.

Interestingly, the Philippine Drug enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 said it is focusing on 40 barangay officials, most of whom have already filed their COCs, for their supposed involvement in the illegal drug trade. Twenty of the said officials are in Cebu Province while the rest are scattered in Central Visayas. PDEA 7, though, would not name names unless the President orders them to.

Which brings us to the ideal, which is for voters to scrutinize well the character of the candidates and their leadership qualities before making a choice. “If their trademark is illegal drugs, then it’s better not to vote for them,” said PDEA 7 Director Emerson Margate. Of course, links to the illegal drug trade are only one concern. There are many others, like corrupt tendencies and incompetence.

If voters are discerning, there is no need to divulge the list of those who are in the PDEA list of narco-politicians. In short, it is now up to the voters to choose the best persons to lead them.