“.gudevening sir!..ask q lng sir kung cnu ibo2to nyo for president?,I haven’t decided yet kze sir,.kuha lng po aq ng basis”
It was a message from Dennis Quines of Laoag City, one of my former students. I was both surprised and overwhelmed that he would ask me such question. Surprised because Dennis and I really never got to talk about anything beyond Logic, the course he took up under me; overwhelmed because Dennis is a first-time voter who is very carefully in assessing his choices, and I felt obliged to offer good advice.
Unfortunately, I cannot proclaim my bet to the public, although my friends already know who I am for. My public persona as journalist, political analyst, educator, and civil servant requires that I maintain a certain level of objectivity. Showing political color would be divisive, and people will either not listen to me anymore, or will begin to look at me with eyes of cynicism if I do so. Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Conrado de Quiros takes a different path in vigorously supporting and defending Noynoy. I will not follow his lead.
But I could tell Dennis the type of candidates I will not vote for, so he might want to go through a process of elimination. Continue reading “It’s down to two”