Election is not Vindication

In voting for former President Joseph E. Estrada to be their mayor, the people of Manila have spoken. We who are not from that city can only respect and in goodwill support their decision.

For his part however, Mayor elect Estrada should not use his election victory to claim vindication from the crime of plunder when he was President for which he was convicted and subsequently pardoned. His successor, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is now on trial for plunder also won re-election as Pampanga representative. Should we therefore believe her if she claims that her victory is proof that she is innocent?

An election victory is only a mandate to serve a constituency as best as one can. It is not a franchise on truth nor a license to rewrite history. Truth is established by proofs and evidence and not by vehement protestations. If Mr. Estrada truly wants to clear his name and find convincing vindication, he should clamor and insist on a Truth Commission to render judgement on his presidency. This will give him the chance to substantiate his claim of innocence and at the same time expose all his detractors and accusers who conspired against him.

We are sadly a country vertically divided between the powerful and rich who are few and the many who are not. By clamoring for a Truth Commission, Mr. Estrada can at least move us closer to at least be a people united in truth.

The Long Road to Malacanang

From my visual essay, 15 Views of Malacanang: Reflections on the Relationship between People and Power

Just a thought in this election period:

Vote buying is a perennial problem and feature of Philippine elections. Obviously, politicians who invest in vote buying have an eye on "recouping" their investment once they win. Yet many people, despite being aware of this fact continue to sell their votes. What gives?

For me, I have come to believe that selling of votes is not an act of irresponsibility or ignorance on the part of the voters..Voting is such an organic exercise that  people will not really do something that will very clearly hurt them. Although vote buying and selling have ultimately harmful consequences, people sell their votes because that is their only chance to squeeze something out of their politicians who they know are sure to forget them after the election. In this sense, vote selling is the poor people's political statement.

Those who want to see the end of vote selling must show the people how things can be different instead of just telling them not to sell their votes.