Beyond Winnability

By Harvey Keh Contributor LAST week, I wrote here about the possibility of alternative and reform candidates running and winning in the upcoming 2010 National Elections. The responses I received were varied, many overseas Filipinos sent personal emails to me pledging funds ranging from $5 to $1,000 in support of an alternative and reform Presidential candidate, while some sent me responses saying that it will be useless for the likes of Among Ed Panlilio, Gov. Grace Padaca, Mayor Jesse Robredo, Chief Justice Reynato Puno or Bro. Eddie Villanueva to consider to run since they will not win. One even cited the experience of Bro. Eddie saying that he positioned himself as a reform Presidential candidate in 2004 only to lose badly despite having his Jesus is Lord (JIL) Movement behind him. Another letter sender said that we should have learned from the experience of the Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidates in the last elections wherein they ran on a platform of change but none of them even made it to the Top 20. While I agree that we should approach this with a dose of pragmatism and being realistic, I also think that we shouldn’t confine ourselves to candidates that we feel are winnable. If you look at the past elections, Filipinos have always voted and rallied around the usual names, faces and those who are presumed to be winnable, not willing to take a risk on the reform candidates because they feel that these candidates don’t have a shot at winning. Now, look at where this kind of mentality and thinking has brought us. In the recent Pulse Asia and SWS surveys, it is still the same traditional politicians that will win unless a drastic political revolution coming from the people will happen soon. Unless we are all willing to put an end to this mentality of always staying in our comfort zone and just going with those that are winnable, I can assure all of you that our country will again have the same corrupt leaders beyond 2010. I believe that every Filipino wants a much better government than what we have now and I certainly believe that we deserve much better than what we are getting from our government leaders. Yet, the sad reality is many of us are just too lazy to actually work for this better government that we all want. We just go about our own lives not bothering to do our own small share in nation-building thinking that one day we will accidentally stumble upon a great leader who will drastically change the whole situation. While we continue to hope and wait for this leader who may never actually come, millions of Filipinos continue to live with less than 40 pesos a day while other countries around us such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and even Vietnam have progressed to overtake us. Many of us have also become so used to the rampant graft and corruption, injustices and abuse of power around us that we have become indifferent and helpless saying, “Wala naman na tayong magagawa, pare-pareho naman silang lahat.” If we all stay with this kind of mentality, we will never really progress as a people. Hope and change will not come from our leaders, it will have to come from every Filipino who will be willing to work for genuine and lasting change to happen in our nation. The challenge for us is to go beyond our limitations as a people and finally, choose to support the right leader with the right heart for our country whether or not this person is winnable. Like I said in my previous blog, there is still time for all of us to rally around an effective and ethical leader that our country needs but we cannot continue to remain complacent and we have to act now. We should all be willing to finally take a risk to do what is right and make sacrifices for our country even if we lose in the process. The important thing is we tried to make a stand for better leaders that our country and we as a people truly deserves. My dream is that one day, the ultimate Filipino dream of many of our young Filipinos will no longer be to leave the country in search of a better life abroad but rather, they will all choose to stay because they can find hope of a better life here in our beloved Philippines. I know that I will still live to see that day and I hope that all of us will continue to work and believe in this dream of a better country, let us all remember, “Walang tutulong sa Pilipino kundi ang kapwa niya Pilipino”. Harvey S. Keh is Director of Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government. Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com