Our country, again, is in the season of election. Politics will be the hottest thing for the next 7 months or maybe until the next set of leaders take their oath of office. To vote as they say is an obligation and a right. It gives everyone the opportunity to take part in defining our country at least for the next 6 years. It should sound exciting, right? Especially for the approximately 4. 3 million first-time voters.

At 46 I lost count already how many times I went to a precinct poll to cast my vote. And honestly, the decisions and choices made were not always that perfect. But every experience is a learning moment. I guess the  6 years term of the presidency also gives us the time to reflect and assess what is really needed by our country. Allow me to share my PERSONAL measures for this coming election.

First, never again I will compromise CHARACTER with personality, INTEGRITY with promising words. All candidates have their best foot, best words, best thoughts forward during campaigns. But in the end,  it is character and integrity that will make all those things happen. Visualize a tree, everything you see from the ground up is about personality and popularity. They are temporary, They fade, They dwindle. What is critical is from the ground below. The roots. The foundation. The character. The integrity of the tree is on the roots. My choice then is a person of character and integrity deeply rooted in values and principles.

The second is something I have not seen for a long time. A candidate who expresses strong concern about upholding FAMILY VALUES as a way of protecting national interest. I recall how the word FAMILY was defined in our Social Science class in elementary, “the smallest building block or unit in a society”.  The simple definition speaks a lot about the value of a family in building up the value of society. I guess it is time to go back to basic. There is a lot of discussions needed for this.

Third, a leader who understands CITIZENSHIP. Someone who can represent us to the world without losing sight of being a Filipino. Someone who can bring out the best of us as people. A unifying force in the midst of chaos. Country over Party. People over Politics.

These are just my personal measures. Not even sure if someone will fit into it from the list of wannabees. But I encourage everyone to raise the bar for the 2022 election. To go beyond opinions, political parties, and popularity.  All the best!!!