As one undecided voter who has not come up with his presidential choice probably because no one among them has exhibited a clear edge over the others, I will have to wait for a little while (since the situation is still very much fluid) to decide finally who among them is the lesser evil worthy of my vote. As of this moment, the playing field is plain since no presidential candidate has shown a distant advantage over the others, in terms of merits.
DIGONG DUTERTE. The Mayor of Davao, though admitting with bravado that he has killed many in his turf allegedly to instill discipline among the ranks, so to speak, and even further dared to kill some more if needed to the delight of his fans and followers who have long begrudged the ineptness of PNoys administration, has small edge over the others, if the surveys will be believed. Until… Senator Trillanes revelation that he has millions / billions of pesos in the banks and many real estate property which were undeclared in his SALN which is something to consider (so after all, he may also be corrupt!). Many will surely believe it because of the truism that “where there is smoke, there is fire.” Meaning, for purposes of choosing who will next lead the country, we should not wait for the issue to be decided by the court. That could be too late to preempt the danger that inheres in it, in case he wins.
JOJO BINAY. The Vice President as we all know has spent most of the years he was expected supposedly to help PNoy run the country, only to be “campaigning” for the presidency. That’s not fair to the people who voted for him, as well as, to the PNoy administration that co-opted with him and did not cast him out anyway. For, he purposely dislodged himself instead from the administration to gain undeserved advantage. Then… came the many revelations that he has enriched himself through large scale corruption and manipulation which were investigated no less by the Senate. Just like in Duterte’s case, it will be dangerous for the people to wait for the court’s resolution of the issues since there were preponderant evidences to sustain the revelation. “Where there is smoke, there is fire” is a truism very dangerous to disregard. Moreover, it is doubtful whether he can truly replicate what he did to rich Makati and boastfully promises to do the same to poor Philippines. It does not follow (non sequitor).
GRACE POE. Though I sympathize with what happened to her popular found father who may have lost the presidency under mysterious circumstance, nevertheless, I don’t find it right for her to ride on the popularity of FPJ to suddenly severe with the administration that gave her the break and conveniently targeted the presidency. Besides, just like Justice Carpio, et. al. I also do not subscribe to the fact that she is a natural born citizen as defined and intended in the constitution. Becoming an American citizen and then reacquiring her Filipino citizenship only makes her a naturalized Filipino citizen not entitled to run for the presidency. On the other hand, the Supreme Court voting in her favor on the issue of citizenship is rather suspicious, since the Justices who voted in her favor were appointees of PNoy. In the history and experiences of the highest court, this was not a natural course or occurrence. There must be some secret motivations involved, hence, the Supreme Court’s decision could be tainted. Grace Poe is yet inexperienced compared to the others. Her case cannot be compared to President Cory Aquino who was made to accept the presidency because of circumstance accepted by majority of the people.
SECRETARY MAR ROXAS. While he may be clean and competent alone by himself, his having always in the shadow of PNoy and his Tuwid na Daan which after all is a farce, has made him somewhat inutile, thus, his unpopularity to the electorates. True he is efficient and incorruptible but the men he brought to the various Departments he was assigned to manage were not like him. So, if this is the kind of leadership he will bring to the presidency assuming he wins, the country will not rise up from the quagmire of destined poverty. Unless,… just like Napoleon Bonaparte who in truth was not bright and decisive but learned to pick good “generals” that won for him many military campaigns, Mar Roxas may still be a good President if he would learn to choose properly his “generals” with the caliber of Ping Lacson or even Trillanes and many other competent neutrals just waiting to be tapped. But certainly, not the kind of “generals” whom he brought with him to the DOTC and the DILG who utterly failed to do justice to the Tuwid na Daan strategy of the administration. So, as it is, he has no edge or advantage over the others, as the many surveys of Pulse Asia and SWS have shown. But probably in the end by way of choosing the lesser evil, I may still be voting for him.
For the Vice President and Senators, however, the following are definitely my choices which can I recommend to others still undecided:
VICE PRESIDENT: LENI ROBREDO
FOR SENATORS: LACSON, SOTTO, RECTO, OSMEÑA, PANGILINAN, GUINGONA, GORDON, HONTIVEROS, DE LIMA, OPLE, TOLENTINO, VILLANUEVA.
FOR THE PARTY LIST: ADDA – for the promotion of agriculture and farmers’ interests.
