It’s all over but the shouting and soon we’ll have a new president of our Republic. It’s been a long and tedious campaign, which has shown the best and the worst in our people. Some political demagogues who were hell-bent on winning at all costs pulled out all the stops to capture their target elective posts.
We had seen all the dirty tricks in the book where the various social media platforms were exploited to the hilt to influence public opinion and voters’ preferences. The Internet has greatly impacted public support for particular candidates that affected the voting outcomes. Unfortunately, social media has given rise to an increase in false news. Studies had revealed that there had been a massive spread of disinformation online during the election period. This was particularly observed and documented in the 2016 US presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump where the former had been the victim. In a similar study in the Philippines, it had been shown that VP Leni Robredo had been at the receiving end of disinformation. Even her daughters had not been spared, prompting VP Leni’s lawyers to file a complaint at the NBI. Troll factories had proliferated to interfere in political decision-making. Social media manipulation is a serious offense, which constitutes violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10175). There is a tendency to tweet and retweet political false news due to their sensational or hard content. Thus, it’s not surprising that false news dominates over factual news. They reach more people faster and wider than the true stories. It’s true that social media can be deployed positively but its insidious use is more prevalent as it is better funded and organized.
One bright spot in this election is there is less incidence of election-related violence compared to previous elections. Until the election eve, only a couple of actual shootings between political rivals resulting in killings and injuries of few persons were reported. And they occurred in traditional hotspots such as Ilocos Sur and Nueva Ecija where election violence is common. So far, 104 places all over the country were considered areas of concern during the election. This was far below the usual number, which greatly worried the Comelec in the past.
My heartfelt congratulations to the winners in the recent elections. While the results of the elections for national positions will not be known until a week or two, most of the winners in the local contests will be proclaimed within the week. Getting elected into a public office is one of the greatest honors that an individual can ever receive from his fellowmen. Lord Tweedsmuir, Canada’s most revered Governor General, once said: “Public life is the crown of a career, and to young men (and women) it is the worthiest ambition. Politics is still the greatest and the most honorable adventure.” Regardless of the final outcome of this year’s election, let’s admit it that the 2022 presidential contest has fomented the increasing political maturity of the Filipinos. The last campaign, despite the dirty tricks and the disinformation and lies employed by political shenanigans, has brought back some form of decency and clean politics. Corruption and money politics were countered to some extent by self-reliance and volunteerism, which have drawn massive support from the people. This will be the lasting contribution of the “Kakampinks’’ to our political culture. We can only pray that this will continue in future elections to serve as an antidote to corrupt politics. We can also commend other candidates like Manny Pacquiao and Ping Lacson who have taken the high moral ground in conducting their presidential campaign. Instead of resorting to personalities, they had mainly discussed issues and their platform of government. They had no troll farms whose agenda was to destroy their opponents through propaganda and lies. While others trade barbs and insults, they stick to issue-based politics. Lacson, since the start of the campaign, had stressed that he and his running mate, Tito Sotto, would not go down the gutter to promote their candidacy. Pacquiao, until the last day of the campaign, almost lost his voice pounding on his program to build homes for the poor, alleviate poverty and fight corruption in all its forms. We have to nurture these nascent political transformations if we want to preserve and strengthen democracy in our country.
Now is the time to unite and heal our nation behind the duly elected president of our country. There’s no question that the last election was hotly fought and even polarized our people. We should cast aside our partisanship and discard our political colors. Instead, we should all rally behind the red, white and blue colors of our national flag. Losing candidates should learn from the former Democratic presidential nominee, Senator George McGovern, who miserably lost to President Richard M. Nixon in 1972 but handled his political defeat in grace. When the former First Lady Pat Nixon died in 1993, McGovern was seen dabbing his eyes with his handkerchief while listening to former President Nixon’s eulogy of his beloved wife. A news reporter approached McGovern and politely asked him why he was honoring the wife of the man who had allegedly committed fraud to deny him the presidency. McGovern looked him in the eye, and said: “You can’t keep on campaigning forever.”
Our Constitution gives the president a term of 6 years without re-election so that he or she can concentrate on his/her job without getting distracted by the thought of seeking another term. The president can cease to be a politician and become a statesman once he/she occupies Malacañang. While he or she can remain a member of his/her political party, the president should prefer the interest of his/her country over the interest of his/her party. President Manuel L. Quezon had aptly said it when he declared: “My loyalty to my party ends when my loyalty to my country begins.” A popularly elected president will get the support of our people provided he or she acts on their behalf. Political allies and foes alike should line up behind the president for as long as he or she works for the people. After the elections, rival factions should heed the late President Manuel Roxas’ admonition: “Charity and understanding must replace bitterness and anger. We cannot afford to cherish old feuds or old divisions. For the many tasks of national reconstruction, we need the thousand talents of all our people—men and women alike.” This is the common challenge we all share beginning today.