A Position Paper on Philippines: Personality Beats the Political Program

By: Eirofram B. Cabasag

Strand: TVL-ICT 11

Elections are significant and essential part of a democratic country. With the help of
votes, citizens of the country can choose their representatives. Votes in every election is
important. By voting, the voters have the freedom to choose who are the right candidates that
can surely perform and fulfill their roles on what position they will run to. Here in the
Philippines some Filipino citizens still votes those candidates who has a case on something
they should not do as a part of the government. Why does the Filipino citizens still vote for
those candidates? And why does some votes from the people of the Philippines are based on
the candidate’s personalities and not for their plans and programs?

Filipino citizens often vote those candidates who have fulfilled what they should fill
as a part of the government and Filipino citizens are used to vote those names of candidates
who has been good to the country like the current President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos
Jr. and his father the former President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos.
The former President Ferdinand Marcos contributed a lot here in the Philippines, he
improved and built the Philippines a better country, but Filipino citizens are the ones that
made him fall and the reason behind his fall is the People Power Revolution in February
1986; But still the Filipino citizens chose to vote Bongbong Marcos Jr. to be the President
since the Marcoses contributed a lot in the Philippines. Filipino citizens are hoping that
Philippines will be developed once again.

This claim proves that personality beats the political program. Filipino citizens still
vote the same candidates even if it is passed through generations. Most of the Filipinos votes
are based on the candidate’s personalities and not for the plans and programs that contributes
for the country. By this mindset of the Filipino citizens, candidates will abuse it once they got
the trust from the people of the Philippines and that’s why Philippines is still suffering from
different difficulties throughout years.
We all know that political party is a group of individuals that are organized to advance
an ideology, vision, or program with the intention to influence the government through
participation in election but according to Rebecca Zistel, political parties in the Philippines
are weak which is why campaigns and elections focus on personalities instead. That is the
reason why Filipino citizens are more focusing on the candidate’s personalities more than the
plans and programs that candidates should show.