Meet the 2010 Philippine Presidential Candidates

This coming May 10, 2010, Filipinos will get to exercise the power to vote for a new set of leaders that will run the country for the next 6 years. Whoever will be the elected president will become the 15th President of the Philippines, succeeding Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The right of suffrage is a power that is being enjoyed in a democratic society like ours. This is a power that must not be taken lightly considering that the future of the country and our children will depend on whoever will lead the country in the next couple of years. As a comic book hero said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Since the country’s future lies on our shoulders, let’s take this task of choosing the next leader seriously. Let’s study our options and see who will fit the bill. Would you entrust our nation to someone who has a long list of involvement in scandals? Or to someone who lack experience? Would you prefer someone who appears brilliant but associated with traditional politicians?

Unfortunately, it is not enough for us to know these candidates. Yes, we saw them on TV with their boring ads and claims that they are the “chosen one” sent from above to lead the nation. But not everything that you see on TV is true. So it is the voter’s responsibility to discern which among the candidate’s claims are facts or fiction. Media especially TV is very powerful that it can condition the minds of the people. What is untrue can be later accepted as fact with less-discerning eyes. No wonder why candidates spend billions of pesos on TV and radio ads to condition the minds of the voters.

We are fortunate that information has become more accessible with the emergence of the internet. In fact, the candidates are expected to leverage the powers of the Internet in furthering their campaigns. Every candidate has his own website and his own social networking page. We can now check their websites if we want to know more about a candidate’s platform and stands on major issues affecting the country. But don’t be fooled by whatever you see on their website, some things are easier said than done. It is easy to say that they will do this and that just to win the support of the electorate or any particular group. You, the voter should ask questions. What were their stands in the past about major issues? Are they consistent? What have they done to support their advocacies or their battle-cries? If their battle-cry is to end poverty, what have they done in the past to support this cause? If they had not ended poverty in the city or municipality where they previously held office, how will they do it in the whole country? If they are claiming competence, it should be supported by their track records. They should be asked to name laws that they authored or brilliant reforms that they did while holding public office. I’m not impressed with those who are projecting that they have a monopoly of brilliance and competence when they can’t even show sterling achievements in their work experiences.

This is the first of a series of posts that I will be doing about the 2010 Philippine elections. I will be discussing more about the individual candidates on my next posts. I will try to be as objective and unbiased as possible. Honestly, I am not rooting for any particular candidate at this point. If elections are held today, I will have to choose among three candidates on my short list. Considering that each candidate has his own strengths and weaknesses, I will have to choose one who I think is the leader that is needed by our present situation. I am not expecting grand things from the next president, I am just hoping that he/she can inspire all Filipinos to unite as a country and work on improving our own individual lives.

Below is the list of serious candidates for the highest post in the land. I’ve also included their websites, blogs and social networking pages. It is an invitation for all of you to seriously consider your candidates. Set aside your biases if you could and scrutinize each one of them. But please try to validate their claims with facts.

Note: Candidates are listed alphabetically and photos are taken from various online sources.


1. BENIGNO SIMEON “NOYNOY” AQUINO III
Party: Liberal Party
Website
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
Official Blog


2. JOHN CARLOS “JC” DE LOS REYES
Party: Ang Kapatiran Party
Party Website
Facebook


3. JOSEPH “ERAP” EJERCITO ESTRADA
Party: PMP
Website
Facebook
Blog
Twitter


4. RICHARD “DICK” GORDON
Party: BAGUMBAYAN
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Official Blog


5. JAMBY MADRIGAL
Party: Independent
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog


6. NICANOR “NICK” PERLAS
Party: Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan (PANGMASA)
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog


7. GILBERTO “GIBO” TEODORO JR.
Party: LAKAS-KAMPI
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter


8. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” VILLANUEVA
Party: Bangon Plipinas
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Official Blog


9. MANUEL “MANNY” VILLAR
Party: Nacionalista Party
Website
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
Blog