More questions

I have just come from a day-long brainstorming conference with some professors of the Leyte State University (ViSCA, to many) over research issues related to organic farming. As expected, it was a tiring exercise but a good one especially for a hermit like me who has found kinship talking to goats and the dog at the farm and the cats here in the office. That might sound a bit crazy but try doing it. You can actually unload your thoughts to these creatures and they’ll just keep on nudging you or make some purring sounds, as if they’d like to say something. Well, at least I can sense a reaction.

But here interaction is a rarity. It’s like a whiff of fresh air on a tepid summer afternoon, even if it can be unsettling sometimes. No, I’m not referring to my friend’s comment on the previous blog. I guess he has grown tired of so much discussion and he desperately wants to replace the bad guys with the good guys so that the latter can govern this country decently and morally. He is certainly entitled to that opinion.

But I’ll have none of that sort sitting in the corridors of power. I’d like my president to know what he’s doing and not be a puppet following the dictates of his technocrats. I’d like to have his mind made up on certain crucial issues even before the idea of becoming a president goes to his head. That’s why he has to be able answer some questions people will be asking. In some countries, that’s called ‘party ideology.’

In our country, that seemed to be non-existent ever since elections came to be at the turn of the 20th century in the early days of the American occupation. Previous to that, gobernadorcillos were elected only by 12 principales and the incumbent gobernadorcillo. The parish priest presided over elections and blessed their results. These gobernadorcillos did not have to explain themselves or their stand on issues. They were elected based on their own merits and abilities, and their closeness to the powers-that-be often proved to be advantageous.

The elections under the American tutelage – and all subsequent elections for that matter – followed no ideological moorings. These were not needed for they were just puppets following the colonizers’ whims and interests.

Thus, the idea of letting candidates explain themselves today may sound un-traditional, unconventional, unusual or absurd. But how else will we know if the pretender to the throne is not leading us to hell and perdition? In the first place, I’d like to understand his mindset. Is he tradition-bound, uncritical and bookish? Does he know the problems at hand? Or does he – like Erap, the movie star – rely on the advice of his cohorts and friends?

I have started with some simple questions related to agriculture. We can continue asking questions related to industrialization, foreign trade and foreign exchange, employment and OFW issues, labor, land reform, inflation…and his answers will tell us if the candidate is a worthy one or a dullard. Indeed, the position of President is the highest one in the land and we, the people, shouldn’t make it too easy for anyone to covet the position, no matter what his religious and moral convictions are.

Heart rate monitor