Indelibly Inked

I don’t like politics. I especially don’t like Philippine politics.

Every now and then we hear of some politician, whether local or national, that gets involved in shady things. From drugs to money laundering to plagiarism, Philippines politics has it all, even tear-jerking dramatic privilege speeches. Yes, you know what I’m talking about.

However, what has this done for the government? Bills and laws take so long to be approved. Out legislation lacks so many things. There are so many issues and details that needs ironing out in our laws. None of those get resolved. It is sad that our legislators have years in office, but our laws never seem to change. We still have a lot of grey areas. The administrative branch does not even fare any better. While I applaud some cities for their discipline and progress, some local government units do not deliver as expected. Many people are still disappointed.

To be fair, whatever stagnant state we are trapped in now is not entirely the fault of politicians. A huge part should be placed on voters as well. If Filipino voters really take the election process seriously, I don’t think they’d be too careless in voting for certain people. Vote buying is still rampant. I hope that we realize that the money we get from selling our votes during elections is nothing compared to the next few years we have to endure if we happen to let the wrong person win.

I’d have to think that our country tops the bill when it comes to having the most actors and celebrities turned politician. I am not saying actors have no right to public office. I am just saying that while some of them really do want the good for the people and really want to help the country, it is not enough to run for public office. Everybody wants to help, but not everybody who wants to help should run for office. Let’s leave the politicking to those who have been trained well enough.