Vote courageously, sleep soundly

In our rural town north of Manila, the former long-time mayor is out to recapture the municipio.

- TONYO CRUZ

Due to term limits, he was denied his dream to be eternal mayor. In the last election, the son became mayor. This year, the father is running again — unopposed.

For vice mayor and councilor, they have been mostly the same names for many years now.

For representative, it had been the husband for a long time, and then the wife for yet another long time. Now, the son runs for Congress

For governor, vice governor, and board members, they have been doing a rigodon among themselves for years now. The governor slid to vice governor, the vice governor ran for governor, a former "bokal" is vice governor.

This is a familiar situation to many across the country.

Indeed, what real choices do we have? How to vote freely and wisely, if these are the only choices presented to us?

Places like Pasig where voters have clear, stark choices are few and far between. They are actually exceptions in a country ruled by a few.

In the race for senator, it is a choice between two warring factions of the same ruling class, including siblings. They are now fighting fiercely for the backing of local races and pressure groups such as religious cults to ease out one another for the scarce Senate seats.