Vote for change

EYES WIDE OPEN

- IRIS GONZALES

The election circus is here; its caravans are painting the town red – wild, boisterous and full of cheers. The candidates and the crowd are excited, jubilant and happy but I'm anxious, disturbed and jittery. I can't help but wonder what's going to happen in our country after the May 2025 elections, given the latest survey results on voters' preference for senators?

This is a question for all thinking men who care about the future of this nation of over 120 million; it is a situation that will affect you, me and everyone we know, whether we like it or not.

The survey results are alarming. Our future senatorial line-up will continue to deteriorate if the survey turns into reality.

This is what happens when every Juan dela Cruz audaciously thinks he or she can be a senator of the Philippine Republic – charlatans who are taking us for fools.

We can blame democracy for this. The qualifications to vie for a Senate seat are very basic – natural-born Filipino citizens, at least 35 years old on election day, able to read and write, a registered voter and a resident of the country.

But if you look at the roster of Filipino statesmen from decades past, it is shameless for some of our current crop of candidates to think that they are qualified to be in the league of the esteemed men and women who, once upon a time in history, walked the august halls of our chamber.