“We should ask them: ‘How will you take care of the environment? How will you be able to accomplish that? What are the business practices that you will implement when it comes to land use?
Will the concerns of the farmers and fishermen be addressed? How will they take care of the people and the environment?”
Those are some of the questions that the public should ask of their candidates who plan to run in next year’s elections for local or national seats.
These questions were raised by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle in an interview over Radyo Veritas one week ahead of Sept. 1. The day was declared “The Season of Creation”, which in turn draws from Pope Francis’ appeal to humanity to stop the ecological crisis experienced around the world.
We touch on this point in response to Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista’s appeal to their local offices to sponsor debates among local candidates.
The Comelec is sponsoring a debate among presidential candidates as a way of helping the public make the best choice in voting for the country’s next leader in 2016.
Bautista said the last nationally televised presidential debate was held in 1992 yet.
But in Cebu during the run-up to the 2010 elections, voters witnessed not a presidential debate but more of a locally televised presentation of presidential candidates at the Cebu International
Convention Center (CICC). There was no debate or intelligent challenge of each one’s platform.
At the time, a disillusioned public was counting the days when the former administration would finally leave Malacañang after a decade in power during which its credibility was forever stained with “Hello Garci.”
Based on surveys, then presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III was the clear front runner for the Palace top post and this translated to a decisive victory and a new era of governance.
With President Aquino stepping down next year, another batch of candidates hopes to succeed him and either continue his “Daang Matuwid” program or bring in their own agenda.
But all of them will have to capture the hearts and minds of voters first. Voters need to take the time to examine what each of the candidates brings to the table. This is easier said than done.
Which is why a debate is a useful filter to asses a candidate and his or her proposed solutions to the country’s pressing problems .
More often than not, all we get are campaign promises and catchy slogans.
As Cardinal Tagle and the Comelec would advise voters, it’s up to the public to study their platforms and not be contented with soundbites or campaign rhetoric.