“The Supreme Court upholds the
disqualification of Laguna Governor Emilio Ramon Ejercito (ER), the nephew of
former President Erap Estrada in violating the Section 68 of the Omnibus code
of Election where he overspent Php.23.5 million during the campaign period of
the last May 2013 election.” That was the gist of the headline in different
newspapers of general circulation last November 25, 2014 issue. But why is it
an aspirant political leader spent millions of money for a public office? What
would they get from this when they are losing too much from their pocket? I
remember one of the famous line in the movie of Spiderman that “Great power comes with great responsibility”,
so who is in sane state to spent too much for the slavery of responsibility? Or
am I asking the wrong question. Is it really responsibility the real reason?
If you
observed those people holding a political office, truly they have the power to
serve the public. But it’s not just the opportunity to serve because having
this great power, the fame, influence and money tagged as a gift wrapped
present to those who won during the election. I believed these answered the
questions. The disqualification of Laguna Governor was seems to be politically
motivated. I would agree with this notion, since this issue revolves in holding
a political office. Nonetheless, the attack towards the political leader is
politically motivated with unknown reason; it could be for the state interest
or for personal benefits but whatever the motive behind this, the most
important thing justice has been served. The law was applied without bias; the
evidences presented justified the judgment. Section 68 of the Omnibus Code of
Election is clear and free from ambiguity; anyone who is proven to overspend
during the campaign period is disqualified[1]. Definitely,
this is a warning for those other Political leaders having this kind of guilt
act and this serves as wide eyed opener for the voters who give the key to the
above mentioned powers.
Even though,
election in the country has been known as the political arena of the powerful
clans, let us not forget that through the mechanism of elections, politicians
are held accountable for their actions, and are compelled to introduce policies
that are reflective of and responsive to public opinion. Ideally, elections
serve as a ‘major source of political recruitment, a means of making
government, and of transferring government power, a guarantee of
representation, and a major determinant of government policy.[2] Above all public office is a
public trust, not a private property to abuse and enjoy and definitely NOT FOR
SALE. That is why on the next election, proved that you learned from the mistakes
of the past, vote and support the ideal leader that would help us stand from
the mud of the dirty politicians. Society’s success lies on you. Don’t let them
buy you because you don’t have a price tag. Don’t let them fool you because you
are knowledgeable enough to select the rightful leader who is not after with
the gift wrapped presents tagged along with the power to govern.
No comments:
Post a Comment