May your kids grow up to be like the persons you elect

GOTCHA

- JARIUS BONDOC

May your children and grandchildren grow up to be like the persons you vote for. Those who choose wisely will be blessed. Those who sell their votes to the corrupt, the incompetent and the treasonous might be blighted.

Voter education is key. Civic groups, artists, academics, professionals, youths, clergymen, retired police/military generals and colonels and multimedia are going all out for studied selection of candidates. Some openly denounce "trapos," traditional politicos.

They've hardly made a dent, pre-election polls show. Pulse Asia's April 20-24 survey is revealing. Twelve likely winners will make up "a Senate very few of us could be proud of," former Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo wrote in his BusinessWorld column Friday:

"Most of the potential winners are film idols and talk show hosts, while others performed poorly in their earlier tenure in the Senate. Others may not serve their full term because they are impleaded at The Hague for committing crimes against humanity.

"With such a composition, we might have a shortage of laws that champion economy, justice and rule of law, and some sense of decency in the land."

Jarring news, meanwhile, is that the educational system recently churned out 19 million "functional illiterates." They're 21 percent of high school graduates in 2019 to 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported.