Monday, August 13, 2007

A mere spectator

(Republished from Sunstar Davao)
A mere spectator
By Taipan Millan
One small voice
Sunstar Davao Monday, August 13, 2007

THE time to talk about 2010 is now. It is never too early to talk about the future, especially if it is our own future we are talking about.

The choices that we have are unfortunately limited. There really cannot be any surprises if the position aspired for is the presidency. There are no accidental Presidents.

For even if the situation that catapults someone to the presidency appears to look like an accident, even that accident is surely scripted.

Therefore, those who will eventually file their candidacies and actually run for President are definitely making their moves now, whether discreet or deliberate.

It should follow then that the people's search for the next leader of the country should also begin now.

And this search, in order to come up with a positive result for our people, should be guided by a set of standards or qualifications.

The next President should have VISION. He should have a clear picture of where he wants to bring our country. There should already be a concrete and complete plan in realizing it, not empty offers to supposedly consult our people first or the usual answer that a committee will still be created.

The next President should have EXPERIENCE. He should have the necessary skills and stomach to lead our distracted and divided nation. This should have been brought about by actual events in his career that contributed to the molding and shaping of his character and values, not just catch phrases and tag lines created by the media or by some advertising company.

The next President should have TRACK RECORD. He should possess a set of accomplishments and achievements that will prove to the people that he is capable and competent to become President, not because he brings potentials and promises for the future, but because his past performance shows that he can do the job and he will do the job.

The above three standards or qualifications are the most basic requirements for a candidate to be best at, if we are to be serious in selecting the next leader of our country, and if we are to be sincere in being a part of helping uplift the lives of our people.

There are other criteria and considerations, of course. We all have our own personal preferences and parochial concerns, even. But while there may be differences in our private wants, our public needs will always remain the same.

So, given these items, we should already begin scrutinizing the whole life of those who will probably run in 2010. This entails checking each and every position that they have held in government and how they fared or failed. This also necessitates a look into what they have done beyond or besides their official designations.

We know who they are, no matter how much some of them politely decline soft insinuations or flatly deny straight questions.

Even if they do not run eventually, it does not hurt to have already reviewed and studied them.
It is always better to be ready than to be caught unprepared. After all, it is our own future that is at stake.

For this future, we have to work actively to chart our own destiny rather than just wait passively while others decide our fate for us. For this future, we have to be an active participant rather than just be a mere spectator.

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