Elections are coming up, and while I'm a few years away from being a registered voter, I think I should be entitled to sharing my thoughts, since I am a Filipino with as equal rights as those who are old enough to vote.
I was supposed to make a post about who I support, personally, and why I support him, but this post I found on Facebook by a guy named Paolo Tamase sums up the entire thing.
Many young people (like me, don't laugh) have already written about Gibo and Gordon. But very few have written about Noynoy. Whether or not you have made up your mind on who to vote for, please allow me to explain why I am voting for Benigno Aquino III this Monday.
In a single sentence, I'm voting for Noynoy because he is average, he is not presidential, and he cannot fix our problems.
Average
To begin, Noynoy's critics say that he is the "pwede na" candidate. Gibo was a former Defense Secretary, while Gordon is Red Cross chairman, former mayor, Subic transformer, and distinguished senator. Villar's rags-to-riches story is not the story of an "average person." Why, good friends say, should I vote for the Senator who didn't pass any law in congress?
Well, I am voting for the Noynoy who may not have authored as many bills as his rivals, but who was present in almost all Senate sessions (because laws don't pass without the votes) while his rivals were busy campaigning for the presidency two years before the election. I am voting for the Noynoy who sat through budget hearings to question unnecessary government spending; the Noynoy who simply did his job, but did it well.
While he came from one of the richest families and one of the best schools in the country, Noynoy wears cheap clothes that grow two sizes larger at his campaign sorties. He lives in the small Times St. home he grew up in. He can choose to live the good life, but he lives a life with as many comforts as discomforts.
In so many respects, Noynoy is like the guy in the middle of the class ranking, who chooses to do things quietly but is always there when you need him. We often look for the person that stands out, but this Monday, I am voting for the average student because I can identify with him and he can identify with us. Maybe we don't need the brightest president, but we certainly need one who will trust in the people and will be humble enough to listen to us.
Not Presidential
Like it or not, the president is the face of the nation. If SWS asked voters who is the best-looking presidential candidate, they'd most unlikely go for the sole unmarried. Balding hair, protruding stomach, and baggy clothes? You wouldn't want your president sporting that in the ASEAN summit.
In other aspects, Noynoy is also un-presidential. He does not have the rockstar ability to rouse a crowd. Unlike some of the other candidates, he has no ability to fund his own campaign. Unlike all of the other candidates, he did not really want to be president.
But while he can't make all people stand in his rallies, he has already inspired hundreds of thousands throughout the country to campaign for him. He doesn't own a business empire that funds his sorties, but the poorest and richest of people donate to his campaign. Wary of the great temptation of power, he doesn't want this job as much as his rivals do and as strongly as Marcos, Erap and GMA did. But this may be his great asset, as he will not cling to power; he will define his presidency instead of allowing himself to be defined by it.
He may not have the boyish good looks that make the eldest of lolas faint, or the swagger that allows Obama to gather as much people in DC as in Berlin, but Noynoy is presidential in the aspects that really matter. If he wins, he will be a president like no other.
Won't Fix Our Problems
What has become a great national illness is our propensity to look for a national messiah. We voted Marcos the bar topnotcher because he possessed the skills and the brains supposedly needed in the presidency. We elected Erap because he seemed to promise an end to poverty (sounds familiar?) We elected GMA because, with a Ph.D. in Economics, she should've possessed the working knowledge to build a stronger economy founded on stronger institutions.
It was not wrong that we voted people who were skilled. What was wrong was we expect our presidents to run the country by themselves.
I will vote for Noynoy because he is not the messiah everybody else claims to be. He does not promise the end of poverty. He might not have the intelligence of Gibo and the executive skills of Gordon, but by the looks of his Senatorial Slate, he will most likely surround himself with people who are both intelligent and good-hearted.
I will vote for Noynoy because he knows he alone won't fix our problems. After 14 presidencies, I think it's time for all Filipinos to cease looking for the single-person solution. Judging by how his campaign has been run, he will get everyone involved in the rebuilding of our nation.
In his campaign, Noynoy says that "kayo ang aking lakas." I think a Noynoy presidency is the real fulfillment of people power, OUR power, one that aims not to simply replace presidents, but one that promises to change mindsets and attitudes, correct national bad habits, and give us people the freedom to shape the country we want and deserve. Noynoy will not allow us to take the back seat not because he is lazy, but because this is OUR country also.
I will vote for Noynoy on Monday because I can, will, and choose to do something for my country.
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[The post scripts are answers to particular questions in the comments. The questions answered here are those that I find crucial and legitimate, but were not addressed in my original note.
Please know that I never found offense in any of the questions; in fact, I am happy that we think about this election so much. At least we can assure our country that our generation is one of smart voters.]
On Noynoy running on Cory Magic
While I think that Noynoy is really (in part) running on his parents' name, I also don't want to underestimate the value of character and good upbringing, which I trust he has, given that both of his parents were widely-respected public servants.
"Based on your article, even my dad can fit your qualifications [i.e. average, non-presidential, won't fix our problems] for being the president of 90 million people."
Well, maybe your dad can be president. What I find great about Noynoy's candidacy is not so much that he promises to be the best president ever (with the best skills and talents), but that he promises to let us sit on the decision table.
The reason why I was never moved by the candidacies of his rivals was it was about 'them': it was about Gibo's skills, or Gordon's experience, or Villar's rags-to-riches story. On the other hand, Noynoy's candidacy is about us. "Kayo ang aming lakas," he said. Whether or not you believe it, he is the only presidential candidate of this election who persistently used a campaign slogan of that nature -- Gibo was "Galing at Talino," Villar was "Sipag at Tiyaga," but Noynoy's ads always ended with a re-commitment to the people. He is the only one who's candidacy has always been about what WE can do as a people united, and NOT so much about what HE can do as president. I guess I'd want that kind of leader (one who reaches out, one who listens, one who is human, one who does not claim unity but WILL WORK for unity) more than a single-person solution.
Maybe, deep inside, the real reason why I'm voting for Noynoy is he gives the presidency its 'human' aspect, or that he makes me feel I can be president also. And in a country with countless challenges, maybe everyone should see himself as a mini-president.
To the guy who wrote this article, hats off to you.
