The Struggle for Power

Being a politician is a full-time job. There's no 'clock-out',no 'overtime pay' and definitely no 'rest days' And yet, you can see a lot of them are fighting for the position. Makes you wonder, how much are they getting paid for? What are the qualifications for me to be a politician?

Let me answer the first question by giving you this list I found through Google;

Position                               Monthly Salary

President                                  57,750

Vice President                  46,200 - 54,917

Senator                            40,425 - 48,052

Congressman                   40,425 - 48,052

Governor                          28,875 - 34,323

Mayor                               23,422 - 27,842

The mayor's  monthly salary is just the same as a call center agent salary. And an Operations Manager from a good call center earns as much as 100k per month.  Now, do you still want to run for office? Believe it or not, a number of people would still say yes to this. For them, it's not always about the money you can earn legally, it's also about the connections, favors, power, and money you can get from the people around you. Now who wouldn't want that right? I can open a Meth lab in Marikina and nobody can question that since I'm the Mayor or maybe a Senator. I can get favors from the local gambling or drug lords and receive thousands of money on a regular basis without that much effort, I just have to tell the police to leave those guys alone and I'll be secured for the rest of my term, or maybe even after my term, since I already acquired the connection I need! Huh, So much for being born in a democratic and catholic country where stealing is punishable by God and by law, when people who steal are from the church and from the government.

Now, question number 2: Qualifications.

As per Section 3, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution: A senatorial candidate should qualify by being:

• Natural-born citizen
• At least 35 years old on the day of the election
• Able to read and write
• A registered voter
• A resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years immediately preceding the day of the election

Now I don't know 'bout you, but for me, I believe this 'list' lacks a lot of factors. For example: 

• Being mentally stable and with an IQ of at least 88 which is a bit higher than the average Filipino.
• Morally straight and is a good role model.
• Has respect for himself.
• Etc. I know you guys can add up to this list.

Being a politician means you're a leader and a role model. You will represent our country to other countries so automatically, you should know how to speak well using our native tongue, and the business language which is English. Politicians are also called public servants, so you should put the people of whom you serve first, so you should know how to prioritize. You will be responsible for handling your people's money, so you should know how to budget properly, handle money wisely and know how to differentiate your money from the people's money. So we as the voters should be very vigilant with whom we put in power.

Especially now since the supposed requirement of being "able" to serve our country has been changed from the list above to just being popular and charismatic, and sometimes pretty or handsome and rich. Or most popular these days; being a member of a family of politicians or what we now call 'traditional politicians'.

What the hell, right?

I mean, can't we have someone like Boy Abunda? Or maybe Winnie Monsod? Heck, I can even accept Bob Ong as a candidate. Though he doesn't have the experience required, or the background and family name to support candidacy, he at least has a firm grasp of how the Filipino world works! And he can speak and write understandable English and I can say he will be able to rub elbows with politicians here and abroad. But that's just my opinion of course.

My point is, can't we do better? Haven't we learned from our history of failed governance from previous leaders?  Are we so deep in the dirt that we can't even afford to pay attention to detail?

You are who you vote. So does this mean most of the voters now are stupid, uneducated, robbers, rapists, and only rely upon their parents for their own good?

Then we're doomed.

-Leonard