Looking Inside the Politicians

Only a year left before the 2010 elections and the mudslinging against political candidates are happening again.

Take example on Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, even though he has not yet decided to campaign for the upcoming elections, he has now been a target of mudslinging by presidentiables due to his high ratings in the recent Pulse Asia Survey.

These attacks are common tactics in Philippine politics as it is a way to remove the people’s trust in the person by framing them into a “trapo” politician like the rest. People are easily swayed by the rumors and misguided facts that finding the right candidate for the upcoming elections make it difficult for the voters.

One issue against Sen. Escudero, for example, is that he is lacking the accomplishments needed to lead the country. This might be because of the lack of media coverage on Escudero compared to the overly publicized politicians on TV. Maybe the reason why people think of Escudero as “incompetent” because they do not know the senator’s accomplishments due to the lack of information being relayed by the media. If we relied on rumors or what we see on TV alone, we would be thinking that the issue against Escudero is indeed true, but if we look closely, we see otherwise.

One way we can see how the accomplishments and the credibility of politicians is through the internet. Try visiting the site of Sen. Escudero (www.chizescudero.com), and one can see the many bills he passed and the advocacies he had made through the years. An example would be the passage of Republict Act 9504 which exempts minimum wage earners from paying income tax, increasing tax exemption for all earners and additional exemptions for individuals with dependents/children. This Act would help the marginalized sector through the time of crisis we have experienced.

He also sponsored Republic Act 8980 which implemented an integrated early childhood care program and institutionalize a comprehensive and sustainable system for ECCD. This paved way for Project Bright Child, established in 2004, which focuses on child health care and development.

There are many other accomplishments that Sen. Escudero did in his position that his “incompetence” is just plain nonsense. This fact teaches us that we must not rely on rumors and TV alone; we should be proactive and look at each politician deeply on not through their exposure on TV.

Another reason why we can’t see Escudero much on TV is that most of the media’s coverage are centered on problems and scandals relating to politicians. We often see Manny Villar today because of the C-5 Road Extension Controversy the he was in or Vice President DeCastro’s over expensive North Rail Project. In short, the reason why we can’t see Escudero much on TV is because he is not included in any controversies that these “trapo” politicians are included in.

I believe that the Filipinos should not be guillible enough to listen to the banterings of one politician to the other and should focus on finding the truth for themselves. Just like my example on Sen. Escudero, we must look at each politician deeply and see them if they are really worth it to be elected in the upcoming elections. I know that as the months go by, we will be hearing more of the mudslinging of these aspiring politicians and it is our job to see if what they are throwing is indeed a fact or not.