JP Abecilla - The Millennial Writer

Beneath the dark cloud of the pandemic strikes a silver lining (or a looming danger, depending on your perspective) of a better future for the Philippines as the campaign period in the country kicked off on February 8, 2022. Do you know what to look for in a candidate in the election of 2022? Whether you already have a candidate or not, I invite you to critically consider or reconsider the parameters you’ve made in choosing a leader.

The results of the election in 2022 determine who will lead our country for the next six years. Many things could happen within that span of time. Whether you like it or not, big taxes to pay debts, high unemployment rates, low-quality educational systems, inaccessible top-of-the-line healthcare services, oppression of freedom and liberty, and moral degradation will affect you and your family, one way or the other. You can be a part of making a difference by voting wisely. That’s what we are going to talk about in this blog.

Every now and then, we are encouraged to vote wisely. What do people mean by that? How can you actually vote wisely?

For the sake of finding meaning, we want to give a concrete definition to that abstract and subjective concept of voting wisely.

To vote wisely, we need to have definitive qualifications for the candidates that we want to lead our nation. Thus, voting wisely means taking some universal values that we hold dear, identifying the problems we are currently dealing with, and scaling the abilities of the candidates on how they can bridge these values and problems into finding solutions and bringing progress to our country.

With that maxim, I want to present the critical subjects we value the most while examining our problems in the background. How these matters are handled today and planned to be dealt with in the next six years can be our determining factors in choosing a candidate for election 2022.

God First

A nation growling with the uncertainties of the future and overwhelmed by cynicism and doubt requires a leader who can strengthen our grip on God, not a politician who insults God.

A leader, a national leader in that matter, who acknowledges the authority of the Great Providence will be able to humble himself/herself instead of bragging or abusing the position he/she was elected for.

Leading a nation of more than a hundred million people is not a small task. Thinking about it is even as tiresome as roaming the whole archipelago campaigning for 90 days.

Anyhow, a leader who puts God first can get a strong backup. A leader with high moral standards can get a good amount of support from the electorates with the same values. When you get the citizens’ trust, you can have individuals ready to carry the burden with you.

Putting God first is a qualification that encourages the citizens to bring back their trust in our leaders despite the rumors of almost unending corruption. A God-fearing leader has a higher probability of having self-control against the temptation of power, fame, and money. A God-honoring leader is a person of integrity who has firm stands on controversial issues, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, capital punishment, the war on drugs, and other social and moral dilemmas.

Accessible Health Care

We have introduced this article by putting the coronavirus health crisis on the onset. We believe that the current phenomenon proves that health is wealth. A healthy individual keeps a healthy family. A healthy family maintains a healthy community. A healthy community results in a healthy nation. If health is wealth, then a healthy nation implies a wealthy nation.

As of February 9, 2022, the COVID-19 cases in the Philippines have reached 3.62M with allegedly 54,621 deaths. Though the growing figure alarms many Filipinos, there are unrecognized higher cases of other illnesses that are killing our citizens untimely. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the top three killer diseases in the country are ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and neoplasms. It means the problem does not start and end with the coronavirus disease of 2019.

Health issues are always present even before this global health crisis. Nonetheless, the current predicaments should push us to choose a leader who doesn’t just prioritize improving our condition but who also knows how to exactly do it.

Giving caution is necessary for this matter. The situation will surely be used by opportunist politicians who pretend to know how to solve it so they can get your vote. We have to prioritize candidates who have always been advocating for a highly developed healthcare system in our country. This includes solving the issues of PhilHealth and DOH, reducing the prices of medications (or making some of them free), installing advanced technologies, creating a comprehensive response against the spread of a future pandemic, supporting and empowering health professionals, and a lot more to consider.

We can’t move forward as a nation with unhealthy workers, malnourished children, physically fragile citizens, and expensive healthcare services. We have to install leaders who have been championing health care with strong and feasible platforms to enhance the quality of life of our people.

Related Post: What to Look for in a Candidate in Election 2022 (Part 2)

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