Electoral System in the Philippines - Personal Statement
For years now, the election in the Philippines has always seen a disturbing union of crime and politics. Politicians who are already facing criminal charges or already have criminal records and also win during elections are a common occurrence within the practice of democracy in the Philippines. Considering this, what bothers me the most in what is happening in our society with regards of the government is that while majority of our citizens strictly follow the rules and are even punished for it at any given time, they still have to secure an NBI or police clearance in order to apply for job. On the other hand, our esteemed government can run for the office at any time even if they are already accused, or yet, convicted of doing a crime. I chose to write electoral system in the Philippines essay to show my viewpoint at this process.
As citizens of a country where we are aware of this certain agenda that is going on, you tend to come to think on how are we going to be able to open up the next generation to the messy real world. Just turned 18 myself, being a registered voter means that I now have the responsibility in engaging, participating, and being aware of such things, especially in times of election. Because of this, the last senate election was one of the elections that I am very much involved in. From there did I realize that upon going through the credentials of certain candidates, there is no denying that majority of them were involved in charges and accusations in the past, yet are still allowed to run for a seat in the office. Much worse, the candidates with the most negative credentials were the ones who won. In this event, you tend to wonder on how they were even allowed to run in the first place. To think about living in a situation where politicians known as extortionists, gambling-lords, murderers, and thieves have won elected positions such as mayor, senator, governor, or even the position of the president.
Because of this, one then has no choice but to follow the vote of the majority and put his or her trust on the government that we very much know can and may be involve in crime before or during their term in government. Such type of election in the Philippines is very conniving in style. The law states that anyone can run in the position of public office regardless of the background of the candidate as long as they qualify for the positions that they are running for. Because of this, even if the candidate has a lawsuit or case waiting, whether it is administrative, criminal, or civil, they can proceed to run for the position as long as there are no convictions. With that being said, it has become very bothersome as to how you are to continue to let this go on and risk the chance of a political crime to happen.
It is, however, very unfortunate that there is no existing or active agency under the government that is in charge of screening the candidates to prevent the ones with criminal cases from joined the election. The Commission on Elections or COMELEC cannot do such thing as well because they have no way of checking the credentials. Only the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) is required to be passed thus there is no way of checking for any criminal charges or records. Andres Bautista, the COMELEC Chairman, also stated that the acceptance of the COCs as a ministerial function.
To continue the essay about election in the Philippines, I want ot mention that a small portion among the list of successful officials who were elected started or enhanced their careers in politics through any involvements in crime. This can now even be said as the political capital of our country because that is where majority of the politicians built their power on. According to Magno, giving criminal charges to the Philippine politicians will not keep them away from politics. He further pointed out that the delays that arises from the slow processes of criminal justice that are pushed on by political pressure treats convictions on these politicians to almost nothing. Additional effect of the relationship between politics and crime and the provisions of the justice system creates an avenue for potent forums for the development of political careers and identities.
To conclude essay about election, I believe that the only time this will be resolved is when we decide to change the law and system. The only way in order to have an efficient screening is to ask more than just the certificate of candidacy as a requirement, but also do a background check on every candidate running for a position. In order for the people to feel safer with the future generations of government, it must be ensured that the ones running for the office is in fact one that already upholds the oath and will uphold it before and during his or her term. Once there is a presence of safety and trust that the citizens will have on the candidates alone, there will be no fear that a political crime will incur upon electing the winner. There is no denying that the government in fact has control on the activities involving the Philippines such as leading, budgeting, law making, and representing the country. It is now then whether or not the government is still doing the right thing with such power.
