ALUMBRO Johanna

COMPHY1 N02B
As a non-voter I felt that the least I could as a citizen was to be knowledgeable
about the platforms of our presidential candidates to be able to know whether in their
term they have fulfilled all of these. In this way I could evaluate whether they were a
good leader all of us could look up to. Having the first presidential forum was a big step
towards understanding the platforms of these candidates all the more. Initially I was
excited for this event and was disappointed that I couldnt take hold of a pass to
Yuchengco Auditorium. But the excitement and disappointment faded when earlier that
day it was announced that only one tandem and three senatorial candidates will be able
to make it. The forum was then only with Cayetano-Duterte tandem.
Their proposals were both promising and were centered on implementing a
federal type of governance. They explained how death penalty was to eliminate all
grievous and habitual criminals and raising the wages of policemen would increase the
security of not only Metro Manila but the Philippines as a whole. They also promised to
eliminate the misuse and abuse of drugs through the death penalty. They set Davao as
an example to which was well described. I was able to envision how good the
governance in that city is despite the fact that I havent actually been there. The best
part of their platform was when they promised to develop smaller cities into making
them more progressive in order to encourages more people into moving to those newly
urbanized cities rather than just Manila alone. This not only solves over population in
Manila but also the high unemployment rates. Telling us that the only way to raise or
dying economy was through cleanliness which begins through eliminating drugs. I was
puzzled at this statement because there arent direct links towards those three. Another
alarming statement said by Duterte and linked back to their platform were their stance
towards human rights. I felt that along side with their goal of eliminating crime in the
Philippines they have also forgotten the importance of human rights in which Duterte
even supported with a statement and I quote, Human Rights? Ambot. It was alarming
because in parallelism to countries who regard human rights as a similar way we may
see the future Philippines at its best as Singapore and at its worst Saudi Arabia.
Nevertheless, the platform was good and it will only be a test of feasibility once
DSuterte or Cayetano are elected for the position of their choice.
As to the platforms of the senatorial candidates Kapunan, Colminares and
Romualdez they were all centered into economic development. Lets say for example
Colminares, he finds ASEAN integration as ineffective as an economic strategy. I
thought he was right in saying so but his counter proposals arent clear. What if