Ooking or a messiah
“WHY are our elections so personality-oriented?” A fellow local government official asked me that question a few days ago. He was venting his ire over a spate of black propaganda which he suspects was the handiwork of his political nemeses.
“Why can’t we just focus on debate over issues and platforms?” he added.
“Well, that’s because our countrymen are not really looking for a CEO to run government,” I answered, half-joking.
“What are they looking for then – a ‘messiah’?” he asked.
“Your words, not mine,” I answered, in all serious that time.
Come to think of it, it is possible that what most of our electorate are looking for is a “savior.” They long for one for who would not just run government. Instead, they seem to be waiting for a leader who would do two other things: first, get them out of what they believe is a situation mired in adversity; second, bring them closer to their dreams.
My colleague nodded his head. He seemed to have agreed with my perspective. The seriousness in his face showed he had come to a realization of something profound.
He expounded the point. He said that a look-back into history would show that we voted for people into the country’s presidency because we had hoped they would be the “messiah” we have been waiting for.
Philippine presidents whom the present generation can still recall apparently campaigned based on the promise of “salvation.”
For example, President Ramon Magsaysay was positioned by his campaign team as “Man of the Masses.” The slogan had no reference to a program of government or to a political philosophy or ideology. What it conveyed was the promise that that man who would sit at the Palace understood what it is to be poor.
The same line was echoed by the campaign team of President Diosdado Macapagal. He was positioned as “The Poor Boy from Lubao.” Again, the slogan carried no platform. It carried the same promise as that of the beloved President Magsaysay.
President Ferdinand Marcos’ first campaign for the presidency seemed to have followed the same process. His battle-cry was “This Nation Can be Great Again”. People must have seen him as the proverbial knight in shining armor – a bemedalled hero who could lead the march back to the country’s lost grandeur.
President Cory Aquino was no different. She was swept into office not because she was a Margaret Thatcher who could redirect government policies and programs. She marched into the Palace more like a triumphant Joan of Arc.
The beloved President Erap Estrada scored an overwhelming victory simply on the promise that he is “para sa mahirap.” A vast majority of our countrymen pinned their hopes on that pledge and wrote his name on the ballot. Why a savior and not a CEO? We can only speculate. A possible reason is that we Filipinos prefer to follow a leader rather than a commander.
Another reason is that we prefer the inspiration of a leader over the direction of a CEO.
One more possibility is that, for us, the character of a person is a better basis for choosing a leader than a platform. We judge a candidate not so much on the quality of his mind but by the sincerity of his heart.
Maybe, we believe that policies, programs, and platforms can fail, but character won’t.
Finally, it is possible that our countrymen have been disappointed by failed promises contained in so-called programs of government. They don’t want promises anymore. They want performance. And, performance can only be delivered by one who has the character and the heart of a savior.
I no longer argue against the personality-orientation of our politics. It is a reality I have come to accept.
It is clear to me that what our countrymen want is not just someone and something they can believe.
They want something and someone they can trust. Trust is notches higher than belief.
Trust can only be earned by proving that one has both character and heart.
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