People discern in choosing for the next president - Gordon

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today said he has strong faith in the Filipino electorate that they will choose with discernment and prudence once they troop to the polling centers to vote for the next president come May 2010.

In his keynote address at the 542nd General Membership Meeting of the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) held at Intercon Hotel in Makati City, Gordon asserted that the Filipino voters think, instead of being swayed by money and political parties, when it comes to electing the country's next president.

"The new colonials of this country are our leaders who keep on perpetrating that money is king. Politicians who spout that if you have money and political party, you can win the presidency. That if you have money and political party, you can be president," he said.

"But people think when it comes to the presidency. Elite politicians better start talking about our countrymen, about waiters here, about our drivers, about the poor people out there. They should have a some little respect for them because people are thinking when it comes to the presidency," he added.

Gordon had proposed holding televised presidential debates that would enable the Filipino electorate to evaluate the candidates in the May 2010 elections.

He filed Senate Bill 2079, which seeks to mandate major television and radio networks to sponsor at least three national debates among presidential candidates and at least one national debate among vice presidential candidates. Each debate shall not be less than 60 minutes, exclusive of airtime for commercials and advertisements.

Gordon noted that the course of Philippine history shows that the electorate is indeed discerning when it comes to the presidency, which was evident in the fact that in the pre-Martial Law era not one Philippine president had been re-elected.

"Let us take a short trip down history lane. If it were true that money and political party are needed to be elected president, how come those presidents who had the money, machinery and political party did not get re-elected?" he said.

According to him, in the pre-Martial Law era, no president was ever re-elected on sheer strength of political machinery or influence of money as can be gleaned when Pres. Elpidio Quirino lost to Pres. Ramon Magsaysay; Magsaysay lost to Pres. Diosdado Macapagal; and Macapagal lost to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.

Even after the fall of the Marcos regime, Gordon also pointed out that having money and political party did not guarantee a candidate's victory in the presidential race.

"Let us go after Marcos. He was supposed to have lost to (Pres. Corazon) Aquino by a few votes. After Aquino, Eduardo Cojuangco and (Sen. Miriam) Santiago, who both had sizeable campaign funds, lost to (Pres. Fidel) Ramos," he said.

"Voters may be bought by candidates for mayor, governor and congressman. But for the presidency, they demand strong vision, proven track record and the firm ability to mobilize the people," he added.