Question at Midnight #1
Who should be President of the Philippines?
There are 100 million Filipinos, surely you could pick one to lead us.
We know which candidates we would never vote for, but which one will we support?
Post your answers in Comments by 11.59pm today, Wednesday the 24th of September. The winner will be announced around midnight, just before the next Question at Midnight is posted.
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The winner is Angus. Congratulations. Please email saffron.safin@gmail.com to claim your prizes.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 24th, 2014 at 01:22
Happy birthday, JessicarulestheUniverse.
I don’t vote because election day is not considered a legal holiday. A corporate slave like me needs to file for a leave. I am from a province that is two hours away from Metro Manila. But these two hours can stretch into a full day because of heavy traffic.
When I look around for a place to rent, the top consideration is commute. It’s not even comfort or safety or cost, but it’s how fast I will be able to commute to the places that I often go to. I currently live in a place where I don’t have to take the train and still arrive at our office within 30 minutes. I think I’m a lucky bastard.
Within that half hour, I still witness the following scenario: people sweat and sometimes smell, people feel sticky, people get annoyed at the passengers constantly bumping them while standing at the aisle of the bus, people lose their temper at the passengers who do not give way, people get nervous because of the driver who’s treating the bus like a bump car, people realize they are running late for work, people explode, people have a lousy day. Do we wonder why a lot of people are unproductive at the office?
It’s because we have to deal with heavy traffic and nothing ever gets done about it.
I came across this meme on Facebook which asks this question: what will be the first thing you’ll do if you’re elected as President? The answer: as president, immediately I will attack the Metro Manila traffic problem. The solution lies in majority rule. Since there are more in the commuting class than in the elite classes, the welfare of the commuters should be paramount.
I’ll file for a leave, paid or not, to vote for Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago if she runs for the presidency in 2016.
Less traffic, more productivity.
September 24th, 2014 at 01:29
In the finale of The Honourable Woman, [spoiler alert] Janet McTeer had a wonderful line about why it was her who was able to accomplish the job in the end: “Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that in a room full of pussies, I’m the only one with a vagina.”
And I believe that the next president should be a woman like Grace Poe.
Although still a green politician, Poe has exhibited competence and commitment in getting the job done. She’s an advocate of the FOI Bill, which the current president ran on but has abandoned since. She does not shy away from pointing out things that she finds questionable or absurd. She is polite and graceful, and she even cracks a joke from time to time, but is stern and serious when needed. Lastly, she is a staunch supporter of promoting Philippine cinema, which we badly need if we are to learn about our country’s history and sense of nation.
September 24th, 2014 at 02:54
Our country needs someone who eats death threats for breakfast. A tough woman who faces everyone without fear, knows her battles, and firm about what she believes in. Even before she proclaimed that she’d be running for presidency in 2016, I believe that Miriam Defensor Santiago should be the next president of the Philippines. Her experience in the politics and government (since the time she passed the bar) will never be tantamount to anyone’s achievements. She has served all the three braches of government that’s why she’d be an effective leader as she knows how each works. She has been honest about her intention on running which proves that she is ready to lead, serve and save our country, and face the challenges. As a woman, she promotes equality as she’d like to give women opportunities to run for government positions and to work in the agricultural sector. She is an empowered woman who envision herself a person that will make our country experience better standards of living, with developments in healthcare, educations, and infrastructure. She recently survived cancer. Most importantly, we need someone who can make us laugh with her witty banter and pick up lines.
September 24th, 2014 at 04:41
I’m voting for Mar Roxas. He seemed politically colour blind lately (despite his affiliation with the current ruling party). I like it that lately he’s been quiet, doesn’t seem to hog headlines (of late), and you see the effort (note on the term “effort”, we still have to see results) to rehabilitate Yolanda victims. Plus, Jessica Rodriguez was once quoted that he looks good in his tidy whities. We’ve had enough ugly rulers. We say all politicians are the same, so I’ll be voting for someone who’s less painful to look at.
September 24th, 2014 at 09:58
Grace Poe, so far, a voice of calm and reason.
September 24th, 2014 at 10:40
Grace Poe para ipaghiganti ang Panday!
September 24th, 2014 at 10:53
If Rodrigo Duterte runs, I will vote for him…
September 24th, 2014 at 11:03
dennislbvergara: “Her experience in the politics and government (since the time she passed the bar) will never be tantamount to anyone’s achievements.”
You just insulted your candidate.
By the way she was already elected President in ’92 but appears to have been cheated out of it.
September 24th, 2014 at 11:04
santi01: We love Janet McTeer. In The White Queen, we thought she should’ve shut the Yorkists and Lancastrians up in the Tower and ruled England herself.
September 24th, 2014 at 11:22
Super star Nora Aunor. About time we became a super nation.
September 24th, 2014 at 13:41
Miriam Santiago:
With the exception of voting (more accurately: copying from my more sensible and better-informed friends), I’ve deliberately ignored anything politics. It was the stuff of my parents’ biggest arguments (Marcos vs Cory), and the stress it causes in general — no thank you, I have more than enough. When Miriam ran for the presidency in 1992, I was fifteen and it was the only time I ever got interested in politics. I wanted her to win despite all the nicknames she earned, my favorite being She-Ra-ulo.
Even with my political indifference, I can’t always escape hearing news from radios, cab drivers, friends, and headline titles on websites. News about her were good, bad, tragic, comic, outrageous, and sometimes, all at the same time. From the little I know, it appears that she knows her stuff, gets things done, and refuses to take shit from anyone and anything.
Politicians can argue about wrongs and rights and their versions of it till kingdom come. But in Miriam, I get a sense of consistency; perhaps, in her political persona, which is good, bad, tragic, comic, outrageous. There is stability in this, and something I can trust. And her decades-long experience, her consistently colorful character, her smarts, her take-no-shit attitude —maybe this is what we need as a nation prone to all kinds of shit.
September 24th, 2014 at 13:47
After Pnoy, I think we really need to keep shaking things up to move forward. That said, I am willing to bet on Miriam Santiago for our next president. I want to see where she will take us, even with her faults.
September 24th, 2014 at 14:15
Miriam Santiago should become President. I think the woman will change what viewing of nightly news is for Filipinos. There wouldn’t be a need for badly written telenovelas that stars the likes of Bea Benene and Joyce Ching. Heck, she even wouldn’t need advisers! Can you imagine someone telling Miriam what to do? I can hear her blurting out “Excuse me! Do you think I’m stupid?! How dare an imbecile like you tell me, me! The President of the Philippines what to do! Somebody escort this person out now! Ah, yes. She has my vote.
September 24th, 2014 at 15:05
Four years ago, it would’ve been Dick Gordon. However, I’m not sure that would ever happen.
Nowadays, I am leaning towards Grace Poe. Admittedly, my initial reaction to her appearing in the political scene was one of skepticism: another personality banking on her surname (and a showbiz one at that) to gain entry into politics. However, after due diligence and research, I found out that she has more qualifications than I thought. Well-educated, with scholastic background in Assumption, UP Manila, and Boston College, she has a political science degree. A plus: despite being an MTRCB chairperson (or because of it?), she is an advocate of self-regulation and freedom of expression instead of censorship.
The primary concern around Poe is that she is still comparatively politically-green. However, that may be an advantage or at least moot. We’ve had a lot of presidents who are highly-politically experienced, and see where it got us. Maybe we just need someone smart with a fairly good track record.
There’s a new “movement” brewing online throwing out a Poe-Leni Robredo as an alternative tandem for 2016. It’s something I’m slowly starting to consider. As with Poe, when Robredo’s name popped up, my initial reaction was: banking on surname, banking on pity. That is, until I researched and found out Robredo’s extensive list of qualifications, including being a lawyer, having positive feedback from her constituents, living simply, and traveling around with no bodyguards.
While I am not 100% fully sold with this tandem, at the moment it’s a pairing that I have started to consider more seriously – something I wouldn’t have six months back.
So, and this may still change, at the moment I am inclined to advocate Grace Poe for president, with Leni Robredo as her VP.
(My alternatives: Miriam/Duterte because we may need some fire up there to discipline the clowns; Dick/Bayani, a lost opportunity back then to develop our country – just look at Subic and Marikina)
September 24th, 2014 at 15:36
LAV DIAZ
Dahil alam niya ang bawat hininga, kaibuturan ng damdamin ng isang pinoy.
Ramdam ko siya!
September 24th, 2014 at 16:01
if the elections were held today, i would vote for mar roxas because everyone hates him, he doesn’t know how to fiddle with media, he means well and he is naive despite all his political connections. i know, all these reasons do not stack up to his favor. which is why he should be president.
September 24th, 2014 at 16:56
If she were to run, I will vote for Leni Robredo because I think she has the perfect balance of being a good manager and administrator. While her late husband was busy serving the people of Naga City as its Mayor, she spent her time working with an NGO that provided free legal assistance to those who cannot afford to hire lawyers. Her children are obviously raised well, which clearly demonstrates her excellent management skills.
She has successfully juggled many tasks: wife of a public servant, lawyer for the poor, mother to her children, and general manager of her household.
When she was elected representative in her district, the first bill that she filed was called ‘Full Disclosure Bill’, which will compel elected officials and government agencies to fully disclose any transactions, documents, and budgets that are of public interest. When this becomes law, it will increase transparency and accountability in government, which will in turn strengthen public administration.
Staying true to the legacy of her late husband, she shuns the trappings of the traditional politician by continuing to take public transportation when she travels to and from Naga City, by making sure that she meets her constituents on a regular basis, and ensuring equal participation within her constituents regardless of their socio-economic standing. Leni Robredo knows about social justice and equity and she applies these principles in her public and private life. She is also able to wear many public service hats (community organizer, advocate, and representative) and do very well in each of them.
We expect our President to be many things, too: a manager of our country’s affairs, an administrator of government and its officials, and an advocate and representative of our interests and ideals, among others. I believe Leni Robredo can be all these. If she runs, I will gladly vote for her.
September 24th, 2014 at 17:10
Duterte. Filipinos are very communal in the sense na we’re looking for the alpha dog to lead us — like a Datu. Otherwise, we just vote from a list of lesser evils with the criteria of self-interest. But if there’s one who can really make people follow (and what’s a leader if he has no followers but bought voters?) it’s the person that people can look up to and respect, bec they recognize this person can get things done, is no nonsense, maayos kausap.
Pinoys in Davao are proud to be in Davao, and if given a choice, would stay in Davao because they see that their place is developing, there’s a bright future waiting for them. Whereas the rest of the Philippines mukhang if given the choice, most would try to leave.
September 24th, 2014 at 20:56
Grace Poe. She has the right combination of likability, winability, and ability. Yun lang po, from Roni po.
September 24th, 2014 at 21:26
Jaime zobel de ayala. He’s the one who made Makati great. I’d love to live in a country under his domain
September 24th, 2014 at 23:16
Me
September 24th, 2014 at 23:19
Pedro.
September 24th, 2014 at 23:29
The president should be someone with a heart for the people, a clear vision for the nation that springs from this love for the people, and enough intellectual capacity to achieve the vision. The president should be able to wade through the murky waters of politics and not be soiled. Most importantly, the president should be someone who does not desire power itself but service to the people (kinda like Dumbledore). Fr. Ben Niebres, former president of the Ateneo, comes to mind.
September 24th, 2014 at 23:40
Loida Nicolas Lewis. For her business acumen, work ethics and love for the Philippines.
September 24th, 2014 at 23:44
This contest is now closed. The next question will be posted at midnight.
September 24th, 2014 at 23:57
We don’t know his or her name yet, but that’s only because this person has never issued a press release. Our next president is someone who is, right now, working hard to make positive change, improving lives maybe in far-flung communities, away from the glitz of the capital and its noisy politicking. This next president has an intense desire to serve, minus any hint of developing megalomania. The person I will vote for has so far been unaffiliated and uncorrupted; he or she has no political debts to pay, no other masters to serve but the constituents. If we look hard enough, I’m sure we can find him or her, behind all those old faces we’ve been seeing too much of, grandstanding on our TV screens.